


Afterglow

by LaMalefix



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood-centric, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magnus Bane Dies, Minor Spoiler for the Shadowhunter's Codex, Minor Spoilers for Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, Minor Spoilers for The Bane Chronicles, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sorry Not Sorry, Tags May Change, yep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-04-30 16:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 34,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14500707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaMalefix/pseuds/LaMalefix
Summary: Precisely because his life was long and he consequently tasted the pain of countless partings, the two of them knew all too well that in the daily life of human-like being like the Nephilim there was no forever. Denied a grasp upon eternity, human beings knew how to love and cherish the here and now.He had hoped for it. He had hoped to be able to enjoy the moment like the Mundanes: like any normal human being. Catching life with his teeth, loving end enjoying every little moment. And somehow he hoped it would go like this: living long enough to have the stardust in his hair; curling his back under the weight of age; seeing a more mature reflection of himself in the mirror, old with wrinkles for too many laughs and trouble that would have caused their children, and then going to bed one night, by his side, spooning him, and not waking up anymore, dying n a peaceful sleep. Not like his people who do everything in a hurry, and marry, have children and live as quickly as they can, because they all die young.He hoped to grow old by his side. To be able to get used to the idea of leaving the people who he treasured the most behind over time.But then, there was that day.He died.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Italiano available: [Afterglow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503827) by [LaMalefix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaMalefix/pseuds/LaMalefix)



> Good evening,  
> I start with saying that this is an experiment, this is the first time I write a story (and its notes) first in English and then translate them into my mother tongue (Italian), so I'm pretty sure you'll find a lot of mistakes, blunders of any kind that could make your skin crawl.  
> Apart from that, I would like to apologize right away (not just for the mistakes) but for the story itself. It came so suddenly, and maybe a little part of me looked for it, called it to me and maybe - just maybe - I did not expect it would be turned in this way ... more or less halfway through the story you'll want to stop clamoring my blood and my head on a pike (and maybe if you ignore this chapter and the prologue tags you do not want to kill me right away). However, as I said, I looked for it (and therefore I will accept the consequences).  
> So, without further ado, I introduce you to Afterglow. The title (because I'm terrible with the titles, so I have to get help from someone way better than me) comes from one of my favorite Genesis' songs, from Wind and Wuthering - one of the shortest and sweetest songs they've ever written, according to my humble opinion, a story of love and loss. And it seemed to me also indicated for the more current and "urban" meaning - if one may so say - of the term Afterglow, a sense of contentment, completeness and general well-being that is felt after the effects of a psychoactive drug have faded, which can last between one hour and several days. Or much more simply the sense of fulfillment after an orgasm.  
> This properly antithesis with this story, as you will see.  
> I wish you a good reading, see you at the end of the chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had hoped for it. He had hoped to be able to enjoy the moment like the Mundanes: like any normal human being. Catching life with his teeth, loving end enjoying every little moment. And somehow he hoped it would go like this: living long enough to have the stardust in his hair; curling his back under the weight of age; seeing a more mature reflection of himself in the mirror, old with wrinkles for too many laughs and trouble that would have caused their children, and then going to bed one night, by his side, spooning him, and not waking up anymore, dying n a peaceful sleep. Not like his people who do everything in a hurry, and marry, have children and live as quickly as they can, because they all die young.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT NOTE: I may have noticed that this initial part wasn't so good, so I've made a little bit of changes (infinitesimal).

#  Prologue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely white flowers wrapped in raw paper in his right hand, the left is in the pocket of his coat. His thumb is playing restlessly with the thin silver band that encircles his ring finger.

He doesn’t like this place. Never had, never will: the silence here is astonishing, almost terrifying and at every step he moves it’s harder to ignore his heart pounding painfully against his ribcage.

He walks slowly in the snow covered yard, his feet sinking in the soft-white mantle.

The season is early spring, but the sky above New York city is not so merciful this year. And a couple of hours before midnight started to snow plentifully, covering the skyline in this ethereal white.

Everithing is so white, today just like _that_ day. And it’s kind of funny because white is the mourning colour in the Shadowhunters’ world, and is something so distant from him.

There was a time, some years ago, when he thought that he could grow used with that colour, with the grief. Needless to say, how he was wrong. His life, up until that day, was loud, full of colours and love. Now is nothing but white and silence.

And it’s like a prank, not a fluke, that this lovely flowers in his hand are white. But are strong and delicate and, even if he didn’t care much about something so short-lived, they have been somewhat a constant in his life.

They bloom in this town far away from there, blossoming in every corner of the street, not in beds nor in fields set aside for their cultivation. They blend naturally and in line with every row of houses as though the building and the blossoms have grown up together. The two of them, in a time that almost looks like an eternity apart, had visited that town, maybe in that imprumptu trip before the children or maybe after their wedding. It was early spring, and snow lingered on the nearby mountains, but the stretch of the ocean that gently lapped the shore was bathed in refulgent orange light.

There was a legend in that town – he said, while walking down towards the shore - that right after the earthquake that destroyed the town, without warning and gave the soundly sleeping people no chance to flee, those lovely white flowers started to bloom in the exact moment the first house was rebuilt. Those flowers, that before bloomed with the morning dew and scattered when the sun went down, were now strong and a symbol of rebirth, their lives have lengthened.

And just like the history of that town, every story, every life is sharply divided into a _before_ and an _after_. Even his life.

He's almost there. The rising sun is caressing with rose hue the whiteness of the snow mantled city. There are only his footprints on the candid ground.

He didn’t plan to stay awake all night but thinking about being here this morning and offer up a prayer, had made him restless. And he decided to take a walk in the snow when the night was at its darkest and deepest, leaving an hasty note to his children, just as he did at the time of his last visit.

He doesn’t live in New York anymore. Honestly speaking, he doesn’t live anywhere and doesn’t live everywhere. He used to think that his house was his people, or his children, or that person, but it’s really hard being in New York right now.

He tried, he really tried, strong as the warrior he is. He tried for his children, for the promise he made, for that oath that tortures his left ring-finger continually reminding him that he is now alone. He lived there enough time: he’s seen the kids growing up, walking them for eight years, with that absence on his shoulders that weighed on him ferociously. When the boys were able to be alone, he entrusted them to their uncles and left.

There are two great events that divide the history into _before_ and _after_ : one is something like a war, or a natural disaster, or a plague. The other is the birth or the death of some great person. A hero. A savior.

It happened without warning. Just like that violent earthquake that opened up a crack in the earth with a roar, and destroyed that little seashore town, a silent chasm was open up in his heart.

 

The four of them lived simply. Happily. Their house was colorful and cheerful. Their life, the life his family was leading would have to end sometime, with his death, old age and wrinkles, grey hair and old cracking bones. This was by no means a cause for sorrow, however, they knew differently.

Precisely because his life was long and he consequently tasted the pain of countless partings, the two of them knew all too well that in the daily life of human-like being like the Nephilim there was no forever. Denied a grasp upon eternity, human beings knew how to love and cherish the here and now.

He had hoped for it. He had hoped to be able to enjoy the moment like the Mundanes: like any normal human being. Catching life with his teeth, loving end enjoying every little moment. And somehow he hoped it would go like this: living long enough to have the stardust in his hair; curling his back under the weight of age; seeing a more mature reflection of himself in the mirror, old with wrinkles for too many laughs and trouble that would have caused their children, and then going to bed one night, by his side, spooning him, and not waking up anymore, dying n a peaceful sleep. Not like his people who do everything in a hurry, and marry, have children and live as quickly as they can, because they all die young.

He hoped to grow old by his side. To be able to get used to the idea of leaving the people who he treasured the most behind over time.

But then, there was that day.

_He died_.

His life, like the history, is clearly divided into a before and an after. Maybe, it could be divided into several fragments like before and after knowing him, before and after adopting their children, before and after the wedding… but his death divides everything into the life with him and the life without him.

Somehow, in a way that sometimes terrifies him, he had grown accustomed to the idea of having to leave him, one day, when his time had come. Reassured by his immortality, he thought he would never be alone; he would always come home and find him there, waiting: hair shot in the air, gentle smile, gold-green eyes shining with love, kisses, cheesy comments, laughter, legs intertwined under the sheets, colors, noise.

The impossibility of grasping an eternity together but doing their best to be together for as long as possible.

The gravestone is simple. His name engraved in marble. Nothing else. No date of birth. No date of death. Nothing flamboyant. Nothing noisy. Nothing that could actually please him.

He was against it, but someone from his family – probably his mother – said that it could help him with his grief, and it could also help their children. An empty coffin, under six feet of soil. And a funeral in which everyone had said something about him, sobbing quietly. He wouldn’t have appreciated that either, actually. Maybe something lavish. Something that screamed his love for life, chaotic and flashy. Maybe a party.

But thinking about it now, this would have broken his heart more than his death.

Of course, they couldn’t honor someone like him, a Downworlder, with a Shadowhunter funeral. An honor only for the heroes. Yet, he had been one.

He kneels in front of the headstone. Rests the flowers on the ground and sighs. It’s cold. The sun is pale and a shade of pink and orange as it peeps through the buildings.

A dizzying numbers of days and months followed by. Years during which numberless threats and wars scourged his work. It’s kind of funny, his world, the one he loved so much, didn’t exist anymore, and the World itself continued to revolve, and live. People were born and other died; loved each other and were parted from the ones they loved. There were joys beyond measure, and sorrows just as measureless. People fought and argued, but they also loved and forgave each other endlessly.

 

This would be the tenth year without him.

 

Their children are now young adult, being one seventeen and the other nineteen, promising in the steps of their fathers, as their grandmother says.

He doesn’t live in New York anymore. Everywhere in the city there is something that reminds him of Magnus.

He hates the loft because there isn’t any trace of him, even if everything screams his name: there is his scent of sandalwood in the bathroom, but the bed is cold, and the sheets aren’t that smooth anymore.

He hates the Institute because climbing the steps on the outside reminds him that there is where he bled out, in his arms, whispering sweet nothings and words of hope, and not farewell, in such a low voice, his golden eyes unglamoured and full of love, not fear or grief.

And now he is there, and he doesn’t like staying there in silence because he was so talkative, and funny, and loud.  

He is there, knelt in front of the headstone of the love of his life, who was torn from him too early: they haven’t been together enough; rather, are more the years of his life in which they have not been together; yet, he knows it, he knows it and he feels it his very bones and in his very heart that he will never love anyone as he loved Magnus.

He will never love anyone after Magnus.

Because those like him truly love only once in their life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, all right, try not to kill me.  
> The story will be a multi-chapter one (as long as I keep kicking!) And I assure you that I like the happy ends (more or less) ...  
> I apologize to everyone because I am not a native speaker and, as I was saying in the opening notes, this is actually an experiment, so if you find any mistakes I would like to know in order to correct it. It's the first time I've written a multi-chapter in English; so to challenge myself. (not to mention the fact that it's actually the first time I've written about this universe - and maybe it will be the last one).  
> Anyway, yes, put aside the pitchforks and torches and sooner or later the next chapter will arrive (maybe then you can put me on the pillory).  
> I have, more or less, a plan in mind - like an almost complete synopsis - and - I think - it won't exceed the dozen chapters... but I'll inform you via tumblr (if I ever understand how to put my profile's URL in here), maybe with some excerpt of the next chapters.  
> Thanks for reading so far, any feedback is more than appreciated.  
> Goodbye


	2. Happiness is a burnt waffle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been a grueling week.
> 
> To be fair, indeed, Alec had really lost count of how many nights he had come home so late, and how many mornings he had left before dawn. Perhaps they exceeded ten. Perhaps not even seven days had passed, yet he was so exhausted.  
> Perhaps, he had lost his habit. No longer being in active service, or at least doing a more sedentary job, like office work, paperwork, reports and headaches included, had made him unaccustumed to the fatigue that cracked the bones, returning home when New York was beginning to slip in the numbness and slow down a bit and when the night became less chaotic and more silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening,  
> Thank you all for your support!  
> It's been two whole weeks... sorry for the wait. Now in my most feverish opening notes I hope a little (24 page or so) chapter will give you a good introduction to this story. Yeah yeah, you've read the prologue, but... still... here comes the real deal.  
> I regret nothing :D  
> Have a nice read, see you at the end of the chapter.
> 
> [Minor Edit: may have edited a little, i've found a lot of misprints and needed to adjust them]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#  Happiness is a burnt waffle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It had been a grueling week. 

To be fair, indeed, Alec had really lost count of how many nights he had come home so late, and how many mornings he had left before dawn. Perhaps they exceeded ten. Perhaps not even seven days had passed, yet he was so exhausted. 

Perhaps, he had lost his habit. No longer being in active service, or at least doing a more sedentary job, like office work, paperwork, reports and headaches included, had made him unaccustumed to the fatigue that cracked the bones, returning home when New York was beginning to slip in the numbness and slow down a bit and when the night became less chaotic and more silent. 

Usually, when he was a little less exhausted and sufficiently able to formulate a thought that didn’t concern dragging himself to the first available pillow and sleep at least three days in a row, he would remember to take off his boots and walk slowly, use that usual Nephilims’ gracefulness not to make the parquet squeak. It had been so long, perhaps two whole years, that he had stayed so long at the Institute, continuously for more than two or three days He was so ragged, so exhausted, that evening, that he wandered limpy around the apartment with heavy feet, the soles of his boots screeching on the wooden floor. 

A small part of him, who knows how dominant and wise, wanted to get to the bedroom, undress in a hurry or at least take of his shoes and crush on Magnus, steal all the sheets and maybe wake him up, to get some cuddles until sleep took over him. However, however there was that couch, so incredibly desirable and comfortable, that called for him in the general gloom of of the living room. 

Also, the night before he had found his children curled up on the sides of his husband: Max drooling over his right shoulder, his arms around Magnus neck and a leg around his waist; Rafael on his left, his head resting in the crook of his papa’s arm and his face hidden in the soft fabric of the red silk robe.  
All the three of them were sleeping. Magnus might have been a bit uncomfortable but didn’t seem to want to change that position. The bathroom light was on, because both the children, even if Rafael didn’t want to admit it, had some nightmare at night and they were reassured that there was a light to keep the monsters away.  
So Alec had made himself small, had mounted on the mattress that actually had enough room for him too and had taken his usual place near his husband. Magnus had opened one eye and then the other, had looked at him as if he had seen some kind of mirage and then had greeted him with this very small sleepy smile. And even Rafael had woken up, evidently alert with his Nephilims’ senses, he had rised his head and stared at him for just a moment, his eyes veiled from sleep; he had left Magnus side and, rolling on his back, had crouched next to Alec. 

But this happened the night before, that night, however, there were no lights coming from the bedroom and although a corner of his head had noticed and had suggested him to go and take his rightful place on that beautiful mattress, near his beautiful husband, he couldn’t stop his heavy steps towards the couch. And perhaps he had dipped himself on those spacious cushions, perhaps he had simply let himself go, and had fallen asleep even before he reached the couch, face down, without even taking off his boots. 

It seemed like he’d slept for days. And yet he wanted to sleep more and more. 

He couldn’t say how much time had passed, lost as he was in his sleep, when something caught his attention, though particularly slowed by that extreme fatigue that clouded his mind. Somehow, perhaps more out of habit inherent in his blood, for a question of survival, rather than personal will, he had managed to open his eyes. 

A soft light cut through his field of view from the slightly open door of the bedroom. A figure, a shadow hovered over him, covering mostly of the impudent light that had dared to bother him. 

Then something had snapped in his mind: first he recognized that unmistakeble scent that by now he associated with the general idea of home, family and peace; then he had a glimpse of the backlit profile, the squared jaw and the broad shoulders, hidden by the soft, smooth fabric of a robe. _Magnus_. 

Alec muffled something. The words kneaded on his tongue. 

«I hope that this terrible grunt means “Sorry I came back late tonight, I didn’t warn you. I’ll do the dishes tomorrow to make up for it”» grumbled his husband, in some kind of imitation of the Shadowhunter 

«You’re still awake.» he said softly, finally scraping his face from the pillow and turning on his side to make some space for the Warlock’s glorious ass. 

«I suppose you have a good explanation, Alexander» he mumbled with velvety voice, while he took his seat. «And i hope you don’t want to sleep here, you may be young and beautiful, and may have angelic blood too, but you risk waking up with a stiff neck anyway». 

 Alec stretched out his hand in a gesture that suddenly reminded him how exhausted he was, but he absolutely had to reach Magnus’ cheek. «Hi». 

«Hello yourself.» he replied, picking up his hand and bringing it to his lips. 

A satisfied sigh escaped Alec. 

«You should come to bed, you know?» murmured his husband, who meanwhile began to stroke his hair gently with one hand, while the other’s fingers were intertwined with his own. 

«The couch is so comfy!» he retorted slowly, struggling to keep his eyes open: Magnus’ soft fingers that ran smoothly down his scalp were making him slide back into that alluring slumber. «And I stink. I stink to death». 

Magnus stifled a laugh. «You know? I might have noticed it. You Nephilim may be some kind of prodigies of physiology, yet you stink worse than some Olympic athletes. I wonder why the Angel in His infinite wisdom hasn’t invented a rune against sweat.» he said as he spread his arms to invite him. «Come on, let’s go to bed». 

It took ll his willingness to keep himself from hugging him. «You’ll stink too.» he replied softly, words blurred in his mouth. «And maybe I can ask Clary to try and make a kind of deodorant rune. I don’t think I have to persuade her; she lives with Jace, I smell of carnations in comparison». 

Magnus nodded slowly. And Alec could imagine the perky glare and the slight bending that his lips took when he heard something funny, while pursing them togheter in a grim smile. A real pity he was in backlight. 

«That will be your next mission, Shadowhunter.» he grumbled. «For tonight, you’ll take a shower and come to bed». 

«I don’t think I have the strenght, Mags. I don’t even know if I can stand up.» he replied, monotonously. «Let me sleep here». 

«And then you see it’s a good thing that you’re married to a High Warlock?» he said. «I could snap my fingers and make you magically clean again, so that the sheets and my nostrils won’t cry out in pain. But you’ll have to take a proper shower tomorrow morning». 

And even before he could answer him, making him notice that going around killing demons was actually an exhausting job, especially in recent times, Magnus’ soft and familiar magical energy had surrounded him and had peeld off him, from his skin and his hair, various layers of tiredness and sweat.  

«I could even undress you, but better do it in our room.» he muttered and, knowing him, he was about to add something ambiguous, some innuendo. 

«You’re terrible.» he immediately told him, before he coul continue. 

«You also love me for this, and not just for my beauty,» Magnus replied, sinking toward him to place a soft kiss on his temple. 

«Absolutely, I love you for your intellect.» he answered and threw his arms around his nek. And maybe he could have slept later,  if they wanted to continue that little something that was starting there. «We should actually go to our room». 

«Uh! Great idea!» the Warlock chirped, all satisfied, in his ears. «I could take you like a princess, you didn’t allow me when we got married, but today I think it’s an excellent opportunity: you don’t seem to have the stregth to oppose». 

«You’re terrible.» he grunted again, but he was right: he was too tired to argue. 

«We said it before: you love me for that too.» he nodded and, in a far too fluid and mesured gesture let an arm slip under his legs and one behind his back. «Up you go!». 

Alec just tightened his arms around his neck. No, there was no reason to be against it so much. «If Isabelle knew». 

«Your sister wouldn’t spare you…» he answered, starting to walk toward the bedroom. «We should take a selfie, so I could use it to blackmail you. Or it could be the ideal bargaining chip for those baby photos I wanted to see for the longest time and you still refuse to show me. Another great idea kindly offered by that intellect of mine that you love so much!». 

The Shadowhunter rolled his eyes and snorted, in a fairly theatrical way. «First: I still don’t understand why you want to see those photos. And second: you have enough material to blackmail me for the next thirty years». 

Magnus didn’t answer, but hummed in agreement. 

«I’m fallin’ apart, damn it!» he grunted, tightening his arms around his husband’s shoulders. «I didn’t think I would ever be so tired in all my life…». 

The Warlock gave a slight sigh, as he tightened his grip on Alec. «You aren’t used to that life anymore. And don’t sleep very much.» he murmured. «And I guess you have a reasonable explaination of why it’s ten mornings that I wake up and you’re already gone and… we don’t even have time to eat togheter, mh?» he added quietly, as he crossed their bedroom door with wide, determined steps. «You didn’t even send me a message». 

«I had some _setbacks_ ,» he replied quickly hoping to drop the subject. 

«Alexander,» he called him softly, barely peremptorily, and then laid him down on the mattress in a gesture that wasn’t _so_ graceful. «If you have to come home exhausted, at list call me, I’ll open a portal. Or, you know, call a cab?» he grumbled. «You can’t come home by foot, at this time of the night, in this condition, mh? You are a big, bad, demon killer… but I worry, you know?». 

Alec pressed his lips togheter and looked up at his husband. «I thought you were sleeping» he shrugged, in a gesture that he knew would make him regain some points. 

Magnus covered his eyes with his hand. «Urgh! You and your puppy look!». 

The Shadowhunter couldn’t stop himself from grinning satisfied. _Score._ «I’m just saying you had a long tiring day too… you didn’t have that extraordinary meeting at the Spiral Labyrinth and then you didn’t have to do those High Warlocks’ thingy?» he asked another clear attempt to deflect the conversation. 

«Of course not as long as yours, I would say. You got out before dawn, even today, and came back even later than last night…» he pointed out. 

«Thats why I thought you were asleep, it’s almost three o’clock,» he said, his head down. He watched his feet annoyingly imprisoned in the strings of his boots, and was looking for a way to get rid of them without much effort. 

«No. I wasn’t asleep.» Magnus added, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes fixed on him. «I’m a little too used to sleeping with you, you’re like a walking radiator. I read a little, I played that strange Tetris Sherwin installed on my phone and at one point I worried because it was getting late. The usual». 

«The children?» Alec asked, starting to slip off those damn clothes. The shirt had too many buttons to be simply unbuttoned, so he decided it may be more efficient pulling it off from his head, while he found more difficulty with the pants, the shoes were still there. 

Magnuse immediatly came to his rescue with a snap of his fingers, finally freeing him from all that clutter of fabrics and shoes, leaving him in his underwear. In the least figurative way of the term. At that moment he looked at him from head to toe with a raised eyebrow, and then turned around the bed to return to his side. «I retrieved them from Lily around four. I took them to the Central Park Zoo. Then we had dinner at that Diner on the Fifty-seventh West: Max wanted the tuna sandwich with fries, Rafael the salmon one and ate my fries because his were with vinegar… it was left up to me eating them. Of course I re-ordered other fries with my lobster roll.» he said briefly. «We bought a cake before coming home, and there’s plenty for you if you want to eat some tomorrow». 

«We said no sweets in the evening.» Alec scolded. 

«They’ve been at Lily’s all day. They deserved a prize. Especially because they were very good.» Magnus snorted. «Anyway they were asleep by nine-thirty. We have watched two episodes of Pokémon on Nerflix. And then we read a story, but it seems clear to me that they prefer how you tell them». 

«Ah, come on!» Alec replied without even turning around. «You make the voices! And then do your magic thingy!» he added, moving his fingers in the air in a bad imitation of his movements. 

He thought he’d hear him giggle, but the air seemd to screech betwin his teeth as he inhaled. 

«I certainly can’t compete.» he murmured trying to press him. 

«They haven’t seen you a lot, recently.» Magnus said, his voice flat. «They miss you. It dosen’t want to be an accusation, absolutely, but in fact when you tell them, the story, they are there looking at you as if you had hung the moon». 

A small knot gripped his throat. And he had to swallow twice to be able to dissolve it. He had to expect this speech sooner or later: it had been days that he didn’t spend quality time with all of them. And the children were so used to having him around, that it had to be extremely strange for them not seeing him as often. Perhaps, ahd this thing froze his blood, they could feel abandoned. 

He felt the mattress sink a little under the weight of his husband. «Don’t think about it too much, Alexander. But maybe try to carve out a little bit of time to spend with them, with us…» he sighed. «Sorry, I don’t even know why I’m telling you this there will certainly be a lot to do at the Institute, otherwise you would be here». 

«Magnus,» he called him softly, turning a little and grossing his eyes with the Warlock’s cat ones, his pupils were piercing through his soul. «I am sorry». 

«It isn’t your fault, those are the burdens and the honors of being a Shadowhunter. You have always been a perfect father, very present, certainly more than any other Nephilim parent.» he replied, hinting a small smile. «They understand that you save the world, but… you’re always their beloved daddy.» he shrugged. 

«I know. And they shouldn’t even understand that thing. They sould just be children, nothing else». 

«Of course, a blue baby with a pair of horns, that the last time he started crying has literally flooded the Institute… and the other who studies Latin and to make a toast draws the rune of fire. Everything is normal in this house.» Magnus added, grinning satisfied. «Lovely». 

A light smile stretches on his lips. «The three of you were so adorable last night». 

The Warlock seemed to thing about it and, knowing him, he was trying to avoid something unseemly, to find the most suitable words in his vast vocabulary well calibrated over the centuries. « _Adorable_ , yes.» he grumbled then, his tone more neutral than ever. 

Alec, who, although quite well-worn and exhausted by his long day, or rather week, knew his husband quite well, hand sensed the decidedly clear change in the conversation’s mood. «What’s up, Mags?». 

«We should sleep, sweetheart. You’ve just come back and you’re definetly falling apart.» he muttered and hurried to settle under the sheets. 

«Magnus please.» he grumbled. «We aren’t this kind of couples, right? Any problems?». 

The Warlock drew a long sigh. It seemed something ancient, when he pushed the air out of his lungs in that way, maybe a little dramatic, a little theatrical. But he seemed to be holding something heavy on his head and in his heart, something really heavy. «I didn’t want to talk about it right now. I want it put on record, Alexander». 

«What’s going on, Mags?» he asked as he stared at his face. And he almost forgot that the conversation could go on a dark and desolate road, because even if he went back to sleep at home, he missed his husband so much. But, now, he had to be really careful and couldn’t get lost on that perennially young face that had stopped aging centuries ago, or on that golden skin, on the slight curve of his cat eyes, on the slightly squared jaw or on his hair, which seemed incredibly soft and even darker than he remembered that evening. He had to understand, he had to know what was happening in that house. 

Even Magnus, however, was scrutinizing him, in utter silence. «I didn’t want to talk about it like this…» he murmured then, sighing again. «Yesterday Rafael came to call me in my study: Max had a bad nightmare, like real bad. Like that time when he was really small and we couldn’t calm him down and we stayed up all night with him in our arms. When I arrived in the room he was calling you. _He wanted you_. He was already awake and wanted you». 

Alec sighed, tight jaw, and all the words died down his throat. 

«I picked him up and told him we’d be up all night if we had to wait for you. Because I was sure you would have come back.» he continued, his voice calm. «I prepared chamomile for everyone. I also considered the possibility of a little spell to make them sleep, but I preferred the classic grandma remedy: chamomile and honey. Then i brought them here, both of them, because even if Rafael said he could sleep in his bedroom, he had already begun rubbing the seam of his pajamas between his fingers. He still thinks that we don’t know that he does it only when he is agitated. He did it a little with the sheets and my robe…» he mumbled. «We went to bed, they asked me to keep the light on in the bathroom and asked for another story. They wanted the one where Jace spoiled Izzy’s birthday party two years ago…». 

The Shadowhunter remained silent again, the lump was back in arrogance holding his throat. And perhaps Magnus had noticed, since he reached out to rest a hand on his. 

«Don’t think about it too much. They were worried, i was too. However, Max fell asleep first, and this morning I woke up with my arm numb and a liter of saliva on my shoulder. And Rafael snuggled close to me and when I told him you had sent me a message and you were coming back he calmed down». 

He had lied. He had lied to his children and it was something  they had sworn never to do. 

Alec swallowed again, trying to dissolve the lump in his throat. Even his belly had made a strange jump, nothing pleasant. Guilt. That was guilt. 

«I’m sorry. I wanted to deal with this differently.» Magnus said. 

«No, no. You did well, telling me I mean.» he said quickly, his voice suddenly reappearing, even if he still felt that annoying sensation at the bottom of the palate and at the pit of his stomach. «On the contrary… I would like to have noticed, been here. This thing… we have to make it work togheter, it doesn’t have to be all on your shoulders.» he added, intertwining his finger with his husband’s. 

Magnus just smiled, a light and sincere simile. «It’s your job, Alexander. I suppose even the Mundanes have similar situations. I would say that it is routine for someone. But at least try to send a message next time.» he grumbled. «I don’t like lying to the little monkeys. Especially if it’s about you. Tonight I come up with a story about you being late because your dear parabatai messed up and made Isabelle mad. They laughed. We laughed. And I managed to divert the conversation and they slept well all night.» he mumbled, his gaze dark. 

«Magnus.» he called again. 

«I don’t like it. I don’t like to lie to our children if I don’t know how you are. And I would never lie about you. I can lie about everything else, because it’s right for children to stay children a bit more. So, it’s okay, Santa does exist, so do the Dragons, and the fairies are just like the one in the feiry tales and anything like the Seelies. We can agree on everything. But i can’t lie about you, mh? I have to know if you’re okay, if you’re coming home. I have to know, do you understand?». 

Alec nodded again, and felt that something, that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach burning in his chest. «I would never let you worry, you know?»- 

«Try it, then.» he retorted quietly, his eyes fixed on him, a little glimpse of heat in them. «Send a fire message, a text, an e-mail, a traveling pigeon. Look even the smoke signals are fine. I learned to read them when i was with those Native American Warlocks when the white man hadn’t killed them all». 

«I’ll have to learn how to make the smoke signals, then…» he muttered. 

«Uh! Good idea, with a little training we could make sexual allusions right in front of all without anyone knowing what we say…» he mumbled with a light grin. 

The tone of the conversation was returning as quieta s usual. 

Alec couldn’t restrain the sudden sensation of lightness that was invading his chest. «As if you need a code to make innuendos». 

Magnus hummed in agreement. And the Shadowhunter could enjoy that pleasant silence. 

After a couple of minutes he decided that maybe it was time to perform certain physiological functions before collapsing on the mattress. But he wasn’t quite sure he could covince his body to leave the bed, and Magnus, and that faint orange ligh that warmed the room even more comfortably. His eyes fixed on something not clearly specified in the room. 

His husband bearely cleared his voice, calling his attention. 

«Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Alexander? Or do you prefer us to continue this pantomime? I’ve seen enough Argentine and Spanish TV series and soap operas to pretend that you don’t kill demons to live and that maybe you just took a long trip and came back without warning. I don’t know…» He mumbled quietly, raising an eyebrow. 

Here, that was the signal to go to the bathroom, it took a moment to convince his tired joints to work together to flex the knees and allow him to get up. «Nothing to worry about now, Mags. I go to the bathroom, you sleep in the meantime.» he sighed, stumbling for a moment. He definitely had to sleep a little. 

In the steps that separated him from the bathroom he could feel Magnus’s eyes piercing through him, digging the back of his head. And perhaps even now, that the door is closed behind him, the Warlock’s cat eyes are still fixed on the wooden slab. 

And with the water pouring into the sink, while brushing his teeth and trying to stay awake and not swallow the toothpaste, he began to ponder what to do. Maybe he had to talk to him, maybe it was useful to know what he could think of it: because sooner or later Jace would call Magnus for further investigation of the attacks. All those consecutive attacks on the Institute, that anomalous demonic activity. On the other hand, there was the rule: keep the job out of that house when the children were there. Magnus saw very few client at home, and only when they left the children in the wise hands of their aunts and uncles, grandmother, Maia or Lily Chen, who in fact turned out to be an excellent babysitter. Magnus went to the Spiral Labyrinth meetings, took care of the Warlocks under his wing, and controlled his activities in the Shadow World only outside the house. Just as Alec had to keep his job and the terrible smell of icor outside the door. 

And since Magnus had been quite busy over the past ten days with certain problems that had been in the Labyrinth, and Alec hadn’t spent much time at home, they hadn’t had time to talk without children. Rules are rules. 

And this, in particular, had become effective for some time and both of them had managed to respect it to the best. It had been necessary to introduce it into the family ménage, especially after the accident a few years ago, a few months after Rafael’s effective adoption, when his job had already become almost sedentary. It had happened that he had to go on a mission with that troublemaker of his parabatai and he had earned two large slashes on his back by a big Shax demon. He had come home late, helped by Simon and Jace, and had practically bled before reaching the couch. Rafael, who still had some terrible night-time nightmares, was awake and wandered around the house: the two Shadowhunters who had accompanied him home hadn’t been quick enough to divert him out of the room, while Magnus was very concentrated and more involved in his healing process, and his little monkey panicked. That poor child hadn’t left Alec alone anymore for the next seven days, and even when his daddy were more than able to move around and go to the Institute, he didn’t take his eyes off him. It took all of Magnus’ patience to reassure him: with him, Rafe had a special relationship, different from the one he had with Alec, as if Magnus knew how to probe the darkest corners of his heart and could give him comfort even just looking into his eyes or holding his hand on his little back. And it had been fortunate that Max was still too small, although he had noticed something was strange too. 

And so, after what was called “The Incident”, with capital letters, the two of them had set themselves to a table, as usual to discuss the rules of that house, and they had decided that they would keep their job as far as possible from their children. Until Rafael was old enough to have his first rune. Magnus had said something about his legal age, but then they had come to this compromise. 

When he had returned the bedroom, in a pair of extremely loose and comfortable sweatpants, Magnus watched him for a long time, his cat’s eyes fixed on him, as if he wanted to impress his image in his mind. Or as if he wanted to make sure, once again, that it was all in one piece. 

«Alexander.» he called again, his voice soft as a caress on his skin. 

«We have a rule. And we never broke it.» he answered hastily. 

Magnus sighed. «I know. Just tell me if I have to worry». 

«You don’t have to,» he replied briefly, moving the sheets and bedspread from his side of the mattress. «It’s just that Clary is really very pregnant and we’re short of arms, since Simon is back at the Academy to recruit, the usual story». 

«I don’t want to imagine what it is to have Barbie’s hyperactive son in her womb. With that huge head of his, surely the genetics won’t be in her favor, poor Bisquit...» he grumbled with a wrinkled forehead in an unreadable expression. 

Alec looked at Magnus, drunking in his face. «You know? I can’t help but notice something...» 

His husband thinned his lips, raising an eyebrow in a curious grimace. 

«You didn’t say _hi_ to me.» He replied as he approached him, and then passed both of his arms around his neck. 

«Your social skills aren’t the best, too, Alexander.» He replied, grinning hardly. «Do you know that you’re really too tired to have sex, right? And then there are the kids in the other room who are at that stage of life where their sleep is _really_ light». 

«I bet you could use that trick to soundproof the room, if you wanted to.» he replied, letting his arms fall to encircle Magnus’ sides to find a slightly more comfortable position, his legs intertwined with his own. 

His husband’s golden-green eyes flickered for a moment, not surprised at all. «No. We have been sleeping together for a while, my dear, I know where you want to go. Do you really want to get into my boxers just to skip on the subject? I think there are extremes for a sex strike». 

«Magnus, we have a rule.» he snorted. 

«Yes, but let remind you that I have the possibility of vetoing that.» he muttered. «It’s been more than ten days since you came back after two in the morning. It is a week that your children can’t see you outside of those very short visits to the Institute that you don’t allow us to prolong. I wake up in the morning and I don’t find you in bed. You don’t have breakfast with us ... don’t eat with us and above all we can’t have a conversation because when you’re here, you’re too tired and it’s usually night, and you know, it’s sleep time.» he grumbled. «I would say I have a right of veto, especially because your sister has summoned me for advice at the Institute because "Hey Magnus, I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, but there was another attack." _Another_ , Alexander. What would _another attack_ mean?». 

Here it is. Nice mess. A small part of him internally screamed a half-swear. 

«Magnus.» he called him softly. «Please, we can talk about it tomorrow, maybe we send the children to Lily’s and...» 

«They’re sleeping, Alexander.» he retorted calmly, a raised eyebrow. «And the fact that there have been repeated attacks, I would say that we can define it as an emergency. And we need to deal with this conversation sooner or later. And it’s already tomorrow, so spill the beans». 

Alec tightened his lips. 

«I need to know if I have to worry, if I already have to think about what I’ll do without you. If I have to start looking for the right words to tell the children that one of these nights you won’t come back. Because there was another attack Alexander. _Another one._ » He repeated and for a moment his voice trembled. «And you are exhausted, _I don’t even—_ ». 

«Mags.» he murmured softly, reaching out his hand to stroke his back, squeezing him more tightly. «It doesn’t seem anything serious, actually». 

«Repeated attacks at the Institute are nothing serious, really?!» he replied, and certainly if the children weren’t in that famous stage of extremely light sleep, there would be words flying loudly and cursing of good level. And nothing kind " _fudge_ ", “ _sheep_ ” and co. 

He snorted, giving in. _Okay_ , he couldn’t be asked for so long. «There were some attacks on the Institute, eleven to be exact. That’s why I come back late». 

«Injured?» he asked, looking up at him. 

«Nobody. Tonight, I was getting ready to come here when we heard the alarm. Your wards held up and when we came out, armed and ready to attack .. the demons were reduced to dust. Like the other times. Izzy is analyzing the debris.» he grumbled placing a quick kiss in his hair. «Obviously I had to take a look at it with Jace and write at least a brief report». 

«Understood.» he sighed. 

«I would have talked to you, as soon as we make more clarity... we’ve been messed up lately. Clary is really very pregnant. And Simon is really at the Academy.» he added with a light smile. 

«I remember.» Magnus nodded. «The important thing is that it’s nothing serious. But maybe it can be linked to what’s going on in the Warlocks’ community, so I’d like any further updates to come to me, mh?» he hummed. 

«What’s going on in the Warlocks’ community?» Alec asked. 

«Eleven disappearances. Eleven Warlocks disappeared, apparently.» he muttered. «And more or less it happened just before the attacks started... I think that the two things may be connected. If you had told me before, I would have mobilized the Spiral Labyrinth...». 

«Magnus ... I’m sorry, do you know them?» Alec asked. 

His husband sighed. «When you live long like me, it’s easy to meet many people. And anyway you wouldn’t know it. Tessa has sent a message to the Consul: the information will be disclosed in a few days, when our investigations will be completed». 

«That’s why you’re there all the time.» He prompted the Shadowhunter. «I thought it was something about the prisons». 

Magnus snorted. «More or less. One of the missing Warlock was held in our prisons». 

He raised an eyebrow. «Was held in your prisons?»  he repeated. He still didn’t have much clarity in the head, and not just because he was really very tired, but because the Nephilim had very little information about the Spiral Labyrinth. 

«Alexander, my dear, you know I can’t talk about many things about the Labyrinth yet,» he muttered. «As soon as I can tell you more, and only about these disappearances I will do so: as soon as we have more credible and corroborated news, or if the oddities that occur at the Institute have any connection with what happened to these eleven Warlocks». 

Alec, perhaps too tired, nodded and hugged a little more his husband, skin to skin. «Anyway, I didn’t have my welcome back.» he muttered, the sound muffled ‘cause he had sunk his face against Magnus’s neck. 

The Warlock guffawed, and even when it was such a thick laugh it was still melodious. «You’re really too tired for sex, Alexander». 

«All things at north of the Equator, then.» he outbid, clinging to him and beginning to give him the attention he deserved. Kisses on kisses chained on the skin, from the shoulder to the lips and away again to follow the same path while the hands couldn’t stay still. 

«Anyway, tomorrow I’ll come to see you at the Institute, certainly your very blond brother and his incredibly pregnant wife can’t leave you a day off. And I could even propose a nice check on the wards, completely free of charge.» he muttered, responding with a jerk to his kisses. 

Alec’s head flicked up, staring at him frowning. «Urgh! No more work. And don’t talk about Jace in bed it’s weird. It should be one of our rules.» he snorted, and restarted chaining light kisses on his husband’s neck and in the crook of his shoulder. 

«Alexander.» He called again. «It isn’t normal that they are attacking the Institute consecutively for ten nights...». 

«Eleven, on the first night I was already home when they attacked. And we must really talk about it? I’m tired, and I just want a little pampering.» he huffed. «Then I want to sleep late in the morning, have breakfast with you and the children... and maybe at some point send them to Lily’s and do a bit of somersaing under the sheets». 

«Alexander.» He repeated softly. His hands cupped up his face. «We should talk about it sooner or later». 

«Tomorrow?» he sighed. «I promise I’ll stay home all day». 

«And then they will call you from the Institute because Clary is really very pregnant and Jace is really very hyperactive and your sister can’t take it anymore, and sooner or later she will kill them all. I will clearly help her dispose of the bodies.» he muttered, without even showing his melodramatic tone. On the contrary, a slight grin curled his lips as the idea of Isabelle killing the rest of the family took hold. 

«I think I can convince Izzy not to kill them tomorrow, and I think you can give your advice in the morning, so we can be together for the rest of the day.» he nodded and went back to his husband’s jaw and just below the ear, where the skin is so smooth and soft that it made him crazy. 

«It’s already tomorrow, Alexander.» He pointed out. «And if they call you from the Institute, you can’t really say no». 

«Mags.» he tried to say, but was silenced by the Warlock hand squeezing his face. 

«And yes, you really need to sleep. Because tomorrow, Max chooses the breakfast. And until we can get him hate those blessed Elmo’s pancakes, we’ll have to eat them three times a week. And you, to be able to complain all day with my poor ears, you need energy, so it’s time, Alexander. You were sleeping face down, drooling on the sofa cushion a little while ago...» he mumbled. 

«Mmhpf!» he tried to protest, and then Magnus moved his hand from his face. «Oh God! But I can’t satiate with those!» he grunted. «It isn’t fair, they’re so small!» he added, linking his thumb and forefinger to form a small circle. «How does he satisfy with Elmo’s pancakes?!» 

«He’s a baby Alexander, he doesn’t have the bottomless stomach you Nephilim have.» Magnus replied, choking a laugh, hugging his neck and pulling him closer, to make him lie down against him. 

«And Rafael then?» He murmured. «He isn’t satisfied, I’m not the problem. It’s those pancakes». 

«If you had done him with your bare hands, that child would certainly not be as much alike you.» he said, holding on to him. «Rafael also complained in your own tone, if not with the same words, of those blessed Elmo’s pancakes. The thing begins to become disturbing...». 

«Because they aren’t good! And they are small!» he replied. «At least I deserve a little bacon and some fruit next to it? I don’t know, a bit of cream. Oh, I’m already hungry!». 

«First, maybe you should eat more when you work. Second, it’s the rule.» his husband replied, shrugging. «And as you guys say “ _The Law is hard but it’s Law_ ”». 

«It’s a stupid law.» he grunted again. «And I want to veto. And… since when are we so attentive to the rules?». 

«There are no extremes for a veto.» Magnus sighed and winked at him. «When he doesn’t look, I’ll make you a peanut butter and jam sandwich, if you want. And we have to be careful with the rules because we are parents. Do you want your children to come out like Barbie?». 

«God, no.» he snorted. «But I don’t agree. It must be something nutritious and plentiful, even healthy ... those pancakes are just small». 

«There’s fruit inside. They are healthy and have the right amount of carbohydrates and fats to start the day well, says the pack!» Magnus replied between kisses. «Come on, it’s the rule». 

«It’s a stupid rule.» Alec said, bending to kiss his lips again and again. He hadn’t noticed how much he had actually missed even this: simply complaining about the breakfast with his husband, their legs intertwined under the sheets. 

«It was decided at a table, along with the nap rule and bath one.» Magnus reminded him, the grin of those who knew better. 

Alec had decided the majority of the rules, in fact, and Magnus had opposed at the beginning, preferring an education mode a little more flexible. Perhaps he knew that one day all that squared organization would backfire him. He could already hear him commenting on the matter with something very similar to " _You, silly, foolish Nephilim_ ". 

«We should update them, then.» he replied. 

Magnus gave him a kiss under his neck, where the jugular passed. «Come on, only for the day after tomorrow I allow you to choose in my place: even if, if you decide to cook the French toast I would be really happy!». 

«But it was already my choosing day the day after tomorrow!» he grumbled. «I smell the stink of scam!». 

Magnus chuckled. «No, it was your turn last week, but hey, you were in Alicante. So I guess you’ve devoured a whole lamb for breakfast...» 

«Yes, my mother prepares rather large breakfasts.» he answered. «But that doesn’t count!». 

« _The Law is hard, but it’s Law_.» he repeated with his eyes closed, mimicking an old man’s voice. 

Alec sighed deeply. «Then Elmo’s pancakes in the morning...». 

«Don’t be naughty, you’re a bit of a grown-up to complain about these things.» he giggled, amused, and gave him a fleeting kiss on his curled lips. «No matter how adorable you are when you make that sulky grimace». 

«But Rafael also complains,» he grumbled. «It isn’t just me!». 

«Rafael is a child, Alexander.» he replied. «A Nephilim child, but still a child. So he can complain». 

« _Ugh_ .» he blew again, rubbing his face against Magnus’s pillow as he choked a yawn. 

«Let’s sleep a little, now. That if tomorrow it is true that you will be at home all day long, you will need a lot of energy with your children». 

Sleeping with Magnus had always been something magical. Of course, Magnus was quite magical, so it was easy for anything that concerned him to have this sort of indescribable halo. 

But sleeping with him was something so reassuring and fulfilling that it could even be done on a bed of burning embers and would have been restful anyway. He conveyed that sense of belonging, that sense of home and tranquility that nothing else in the world could give him. 

The first few times, right at the beginning of their relationship, it had been almost terrifying, if not alienating. He couldn’t understand how someone like him, always alert, could give in so quickly. Perhaps a small part of him, the one still attached to the “Don’t ask don’t tell” the Clave’s dictated, had believed that it was under some kind of spell; but to sleep so well, with his beloved next to him, he could only be satisfied, even if he had been under some spell. 

And then it had become almost as natural as breathing, walking through whole blocks to reach the apartment, slip off the boots by the door and walk barefoot to the bedroom. Slip under the sheets and take his place next to his husband. And it was as if their bodies had been created to be so, intertwined. 

The light of that morning was a warm orange and was stretching over those emerald sheets. It blinked on his eyelids with a certain insistence, but on the other hand was a pleasant way to wake up: slowly he had perceived everything, the soft silk that enveloped him, the familiar warmth that was below and around him, Magnus, who kept him hugged as when he had fallen asleep, his breath on his face. 

Alec hadn’t this great desire to get out of bed, or to open his eyes in general. And not only because he knew he would have a plate of tiny Elmo’s pancakes waiting for him for breakfast, but because he had evidently missed all this, the simple lazing in the bed in the arms of his husband. 

And on the other hand, Magnus was certainly not trying to wake him, his fingers running through his scalp, curling his hair between his fingertips, his other hand stroking his side slowly, drawing a strange pattern, perhaps a rune. 

Greenpoint had already woken up by now, as well as Brooklyn and all of New York. But the impertinent grunt of traffic was nothing but a murmur, muffled by the closed windows, by the drapery and perhaps even by a little spell of the High Warlock who shared the bed with him. But if the sun was already looking over the buildings, and the streets were full of commuters, that could only mean one thing: the children would be there in minutes. 

He didn’t even have time to formulate this thought, still clouded by the fact that he was re-falling asleep, when he heard them, the noisy and hasty steps of two monkeys, who had the same infinite grace of the infamous wildebeest from the film The Lion King. 

«You should wake up, sleepyhead.» Magnus murmured with his lips against his temple, before dissolving the embrace that greeted him. 

Alec grunted reluctantly. «Five more minutes.» he barely protested, moving away from his husband only to cover her head with the sheet. 

«Papa! Papa!» Max chirped, throwing open the door without half measures. «This morning it’s Elmo’s pancakes!». 

The Shadowhunter couldn’t help grinning that spread through his face when he heard Rafael’s subdued muttering. «Dios, Maxie... por favor, why don’t you try the omelettes? I swear, even oatmeal is good!» the older child had the voice thick with sleep and was a big mope in the morning, especially when his brother chose breakfast. And Alec certainly couldn’t blame him. 

«Hi, monkey. I remember it this morning is Elmo’s pancakes. Strawberry and blueberry flavor.» Magnus nodded. 

Rafael snorted loudly. «Anyway, we’re here for another reason. Daddy’s phone rang. It was the Institute». 

Alec immediately felt Magnus move from the bed and leave the blankets completely. «It’s probably for me, Aunt Isabelle invited me to see an interesting thing in her lab today, I’ll call her and see if it’s urgent». 

«She would have called you, right? And not daddy’s.» Rafe answered, his voice serious. 

«Let’s see if I can get daddy the day off,» Magnus said. «In the meantime, you can stay here if you want or I can put the Pokémon on TV». 

Alec was pondering the idea of coming out of the sheets and attacking the sides of his two boys to tickle them when he heard Max sigh. 

«So,» he mumbled softly, his voice low, almost imperceptible. «Doesn’t daddy stay with us today?». 

And a little knot tightened in Alec’s throat. 

«I don’t know, Maxie, papa certainly will be able to convince our uncles to leave him alone at least to have breakfast with us.» Rafael answered. «Let him sleep, in the meantime... have you noticed that it is so many nights that he doesn’t put us to bed? He must be really tired. If he stays with us today, we have to be super good». 

«Yup! _Super goodest_.» Max giggled enthusiastically. 

«We could go and wash and get dressed, so we can stay with him a little bit more when he wakes up,» the little Nephilim proposed then. 

And even before they took a step, Alec pulled his head out from under the sheets. «Or», he said, and two pairs of eyes sparkled over him as if it were Christmas morning and he was the decorated tree and all the presents. «You could get on the bed here with me and wait for papa, who, I’m sure will convince uncle Jace to let me stay for today». 

Max didn’t need to be asked twice and began to climb on the mattress, his tongue between his teeth in his grimace of total concentration. Alec stretched to pick him up in a hurry, the mattress was too high for him to climb easily. 

Rafael, on the other hand, still seemed a little hesitant. 

«Aren’t you coming, Rafe?» he asked softly, as he ruffled his son’s blue hair. 

«So you really stay with us today?» the little Nephilim muttered, looking at him with his big dark eyes. 

Alec winked at him. «You know, your Papa is extremely persuasive, come on». 

«Uh! If you stay with us you can choose what we eat for breakfast, eh?» Max mumbled. «I can eat Elmo’s pancakes another day». 

Rafael hastened to take a seat on the bed, a little more agile than his brother, with that handful of inches more and the angelic blood to give him an extra boost. «If we all agree, we can make an exception to the rule, right?». 

«It’s called _democracy_.» Max added, nodding, like an old man. «If we all agree, we can change the rule». 

Alec’s stomach made a small jump, pleasant this time, although the knot was still tight at the throat: his children were really getting bigger and they really missed him, almost as he missed them. «You sweet, little monkeys! I would eat you for breakfast!» he muttered then tugging them closer, over him and hugging them, covering their cheeks with little kisses. 

Rafael had tried to extricate himself from his grasp for a moment, protesting softly, but opposing little resistance, while Max laughed and clung to him more. 

«It’s time for the tickling battle, I would say!» Magnus announced at the door, a playful smile on his lips. 

Max and Rafael looked up expectantly, before asking in one voice. «Does he stay with us?». 

«Yes, I told you that Aunt Isabelle wanted me.» he nodded, smiling, and without turning around the bed, to return to his rightful place, he made his way onto the mattress on Alec’s side and sat down next to him, throwing an arm around his back. 

Alec kissed him on the cheek. «I told you he could convince Uncle Jace to leave me alone». 

The children seemed even more satisfied and proud of their papa. Although perhaps Rafael had mumbled something about how embarrassing they were, when they exchanged those kind of effusions. 

Magnus smiled. «Today you will be a lot of time with daddy. And when I come back we can eat together, we can see a movie... then let’s have a nice walk up to Aunt Lily’s, who bought a new game that she found and absolutely wants to show you». 

The Shadowhunter raised an eyebrow. And even the little Nephilim, who resembled him in a somehow disturbing way, looked both of them. But it was Max who spoke. 

«Are there any problems?» he asked, his blue forehead wrinkled in a thoughtful grimace. «When we go with Aunt Lily, it means we can’t go to Aunt Izzy or Aunt Clary... and you have to work». 

«It’s true because Aunt Clary is really very pregnant and Aunt Izzy has a lot of work to do today since Simon isn’t here.» Alec said quickly. «Above all, you know how trublemaker Uncle Jace can be, don’t you? So they need two adult supervisors. Right, Mags?». 

«Exact. That’s why I have to go to the Institute this morning... Daddy isn’t needed, it’s something I have to solve because I am a very powerful Warlock.» Magnus added, slipping the blue flash of his magic between his fingers for a moment, his cat’s eyes sparkling. «And then you know how aunt Lily is, how capricious she can be! She bought this game and wants to do it with his favorite little humans.» he added, imitating the vampire badly. 

Alec immediately noticed Rafael’s unconvinced gaze and hurried again to open his mouth. «So, can we have breakfast all together today?». 

«Oh, absolutely.» Magnus answered. «And I think I heard one of my favorite little men say something about _democracy_...». 

«We want to change the menu a little today!» Max chirped. «Along with Elmo’s pancakes, what do you want, daddy?». 

Alec didn’t have to think about it for a moment. «Eggs and bacon, is it good for you, Rafe?». 

Rafael smiled, two small dimples hollowing his cheeks. «But I want bananas, some cream and chocolate chips with my pancakes. We need to eat some fruit». 

«Cream and chocolate aren’t fruit, Rafe.» Max pointed out. 

«But they’re good, like real good.» the older brother replied, tilting his head with a knowing look. «And then the maple syrup!». 

«And orange juice!» the youngest said. 

«And some coffee for the grown-ups!» Alec added in his most cheerful voice. 

«Uh, a super breakfast!» Magnus grumbled, leaving the mattress again and moving towards the door. «Who wants to help me?». 

«I’m coming, papa.» Rafael said, jumping out of bed and leaving Max and Alec alone. 

Then there was a comfortable silence. Max was still in his arms, his head resting under his neck, and Alec could almost swear that his son was falling asleep again, when suddenly the curly blue head turned up. His eyes, two rims of a shade of blue just a little darker than his irises, stared at him. 

«What’s up, monkey?» he asked. 

«You came back late last night too,» he murmured. «And you’ll take us to Lily’s tonight». 

«Yes, because Uncle Jace did one of his usual mess,» he replied calmly. «He broke one of Aunt Izzy’s microscopes and it took all night long to get it fixed…». 

The boy frowned. «And you couldn’t call papa? He could use magic and you could have come home and put us to bed». 

«I know, but papa was with you. So I decided to fix it myself. I was late but I earned a free day, aren’t you happy?» He smiled. And when his son nodded, his heart burst with joy. He hated lying, to his children especially, but if this avoided nightmares and worries it could be called a good deed, right? And then, actually, Jace had hit a laboratory microscope a few days ago and they had spent hours looking for a damn tiny case of one of the lenses. So yes, it was a half-truth. 

«But it’s not a real day off if you have to go to the Institute tonight.» he pointed out slowly, his brow still furrowed. 

«I promise we won’t be away for long: you know that in the evening Aunt Lily has a lot of work to do and then you can’t stay there, we will come and take you to eat an ice cream and then tell a story together tonight. Do you like how it sounds?». 

«Really?» he muttered, his eyes glowing. 

«You have my word of honor.» he nodded and poked his cheek softly with the tip of his finger, making him smile more. 

The comfortable silence returned, Max stayed two good minutes in his arms without another word, until he decided it was time to go and see how the breakfast proceeded. 

«Maybe Rafael and Dad need a hand!» the little Warlock explained, sliding off the bed. «Rest a little more, and then join us!» he added, hurrying to the kitchen. 

He couldn’t help but smile, so little was enough to make his son happy and make his eyes flicker with such joy that he couldn’t believe how much luck he had. It was enough to be there, to make them all happy. He could hardly define as an absent father, and perhaps precisely because of his lack of presence in the last days, this had a little upset his children. And maybe even Magnus didn’t live it particularly well, considering that it was a long time since he came home so late. He too was unaccustomed to that routine, now old and forgotten. 

Alec pulled himself up from his bed after a few more minutes. He slipped into the bathroom and, looking at himself for a moment, evaluated his appearance. He was visibly more rested, though the eyes usually shining in this bright and lively blue were still veiled by a certain weariness, also remarked by the deep dark circles under them. His hair, crushed on one side and ruffled on the other, required a real shower and a good combing before going through Magnus’s scrutiny, he could already hear his amused laughter and the comments echoing in his ears. 

He slipped under the jet of hot water, with his toothbrush to hurry as much as possible. He would have liked to linger still further in there, to get rid of the last ounce of exhaustion, but this was for the better. It was quite clear that Max was right, and leaving them with Lily meant that there were problems at the Institute. He wouldn’t have had the whole day off, and Magnus had managed to cut out at least half a day to allow the children to take a feast of his company. 

When he got out, he was dressed in a blink, a pair of sweats and a shirt of the less faded he had. He had dried his hair messily and had padded in the kitchen. 

Magnus was all attentive to the stove, two pack of Elmo’s furry, smiling, red-face pancakes standing on the counter by the refrigerator, but there was already the inviting smell of sizzling bacon invading his nostrils. Max sat on the counter while Rafael, big enough to hold a knife without being dangerous, was cutting another pair of oranges. 

«Good morning,» he said. 

«Hello, daddy!» Max chirped, stretching his arms toward him. Vivid eyes and a blinding smile. «Breakfast is almost ready!». 

«Dios gracias, I’m so hungry!» Rafael chanted, giving him a knowing look. 

And perhaps Magnus had commented softly with something very similar to “You Nephilim and that bottomless stomach of yours", or perhaps he had only imagined it. But it still snatched a smile from him. 

«Great, Maxie.» he nodded, kissing his blue curls and putting him back on the ground. «And you’re helping Rafe with the juice? Such a good boy!». 

«Yup! I pass the oranges!» he nodded proudly. 

«Do you want some tea, sweetheart?» Magnus asked, pointing to the kettle ready for him. «And in the meantime, go and wash your hands, you two, breakfast is almost ready». 

«Yes, papa!» Rafael nodded. 

The two children hurried to the bathroom and Alec approached Magnus, all focused on turning the pancakes in the pan, while the bacon sizzled in another and the scrambled eggs cooked in a third. 

«They missed me.» Alec muttered. 

«It’s the first time that, even if you’re here, they don’t see you enough. Max has practically abdicated in your favor... he has renounced his privileges of choosing breakfast! An unprecedented thing». 

Alec smiled and placed a soft kiss just above his husband’s temple. 

«Because he knows you’re like Rafe and you complain about Elmo’s pancakes. It’s really a big boy. He also talked about democracy. He should really spend less time with Catarina.» he sighed. 

«How fast they grow up.» Alec agreed as he retrieved his favorite cup from the cupboard. «Do you need help? I know I’m allowed in the kitchen only when it’s up to me to make French toast, but maybe I can help». 

«Finish setting up, maybe. Only the plates are missing.» he mumbled. «No stove for you, not after the _Big Fire of Cookie Monster’s Waffles_ ». 

«You’re being overdramatic! I’ve just burned a couple of them.» he grumbled, filling the cup with plenty of hot water and choosing the best blend of tea leaves to start the morning. «And it’s been six years». 

Magnus looked at him. «Two boxes, Alexander. I don’t forget. And even the Chairman doesn’t» he muttered, beckoning to the cat, who looked at him suspicously from a shelf, and perhaps a little judging him cruelly. «Not even all the magic I used, that time, managed to make the smell of burnt sugar and... - what was that plastic? - disappear from his wonderful fur». 

«I forgot the spatula in the pan.» he snorted, taking four plates, all different, to place them on the table. «It happened because then I got distracted. _You_ distracted me that time». 

His husband again looked at him with a frowned eyebrow in his best not-at-all-impressed face. «Sure, now you blame me, Lightwood. You almost give all Greenpoint to the flames while you prepare breakfast. And that’s _my_ fault». 

«Well excuse me if my boyfriend was really gorgeous that morning and he was holding my wonderful baby.» he mumbled passing by, the plates still in his hand. «I got distracted. You were beautiful. We should define it an _attenuating circumstance_ ». 

«A lovely mitigating,» he replied. «Anyway, you’ll have to wash the dishes and fix the kitchen when we’re finished, so I can go to meet Isabelle for that thing. Do you want to put those plates on the table or do you want to keep them in your arms like a fireman does with a kitten?». 

«I got distracted.» Alec muttered, finally arranging the four plates on the kitchen counter, the cutlery was already there in bulk on four bamboo placemats that looked like they had seen better days, with folded napkins and the two Star Wars plastic cups for the children, a gift kindly offered by Uncle Simon. «See that you distract me?». 

«Mitigating: I’m fabulous.» Magnus replied, his tone playful. 

«Are you sure you don’t need me this morning?» Alec asked, a frowned eyebrow. 

«No, Isabelle still wanted to talk to me. And I have to check the wards. I think I’ll be back around lunch time.» he grumbled. «You can order something, or I can bring something back home. So, maybe send me a message to let me know what do you prefer». 

Alec nodded. «Do I need to take a look on them? They don’t usually take so much time to wash their hands» he mumbled. 

«Nah, they may be getting dressed. Max finally figured out how to tie his shoes on his own without using magic. Rafael taught him to. I sent you a video, I don’t know if you saw it...» Magnus mumbled, starting to move pancakes from the pan to the serving dish. 

«Gosh, I’m losing everything.» he mumbled before recovering ungracefully from the pan a piece of crispy bacon and dropping it into his mouth without batting an eyelid. 

«For only ten days, Alexander? You have all your life to see them grow.» Magnus replied, a smile on his lips. «And let me drain it, look that bacon drips greasy fat! Yeah, you’re young and beautiful and you have angelic blood, but you have got coronaries too!» He mumbled. 

«It has become a sing-song...» Alec noted. 

«Anyway, Rafael has understood that there is something underneath. He made that thoughtful old man face, and he asked me a lot of questions. Of course I glided with my usual grace. But, still...» he hummed. «T ry to make him think of something else,» he added, beginning to place the bacon on two sheets of paper towels. 

«I think I’ll take them to the park this morning. At the playground, the wooden one.» he mumbled. 

«The Diana Ross Playground? Great. So our Captain _Bluebeard_ will be happy.» Magnus nodded. «Do you think you can put the eggs on a plate without catching fire?». 

«Oh, shut up _you_! It only happened once! And it wasn’t me or the eggs that caught fire, but the cloth with which I took the pan!» he replied pretendig to be wounded by his words. 

And he had missed this too, in a way that made his head spin, he had missed bickering about his terrible culinary skills. And Magnus definitely didn’t have to know that when he’d been on a business trip many years ago, eggs had really caught fire. Along with his shirt. And a couple of rolls of paper towels. No, he really didn’t have to know. Perhaps it was also for this reason that the Chairman looked at him suspiciously when he was around the kitchen. 

The children were in fact fully dressed, when they had returned hurriedly to the kitchen, even before being called, attracted, perhaps by the smell of breakfast now ready. 

Magnus snapped his fingers to let appear whipped cream and bananas cut into slices in two bowls, in another the chocolate chips. 

«We said no magic at breakfast.» Alec muttered. 

«I cut the bananas, daddy!» Rafael replied, taking two large spoonfuls of cream and a handful of chocolate chips and covering all his four pancakes until they were unrecognizable. «They had to be put in the fridge, otherwise they were hot. And they don’t have to be hot when you eat pancakes». 

«And then it was just a snap of fingers, I didn’t get anything from any shop.» Magnus added. «We had the cream in the fridge since yesterday that we took that cake and the chocolate chips were on the shelf. Did you want me to go all that way to get them?! You’re really cruel, Alexander». 

«Ah, all right.» The Shadowhunter snorted, rolling his eyes. 

«Anyway, monkeys.» Magnus muttered, chopping Max’s pancakes into small pieces. «Dad said he’s taking you to the park. To the wooden one». 

«Yay! The pirate ship!» the little Warlock chirped, waving his fork before putting it in his mouth. 

«I should be free around lunch, so I’ll see you there. And we can grab a bite together.» Magnus added, pouring and retrieving his cup of tea to bring it to his mouth. 

«We could go and eat baconburgers at Wlliamsbugh!» said Rafael, eyes shining. 

«We’re already eating bacon for breakfast.» the High Warlock replied, bewildered. 

«Breakfast doesn’t count, silly papa.» Alec answered. «Seems like a good plan, Rafe». 

«Well, then I’ll get to Central Park.» his husband nodded. «Now let’s eat!». 

After breakfast, the children helped Alec set up the kitchen. Rafael put the soap, Alec washed the dishes and Max dried them. Magnus had been quick to get ready, he had visibly reduced his morning preparation time due having two children to take care of, and had opened a portal right in the middle of the living room, to reach the Institute quickly. He briefly greeted his children, kissed Alec with a certain indulgence, causing a grumble about how embarrassing they were by both boys, and then he let himself be swallowed by the whirlpool of magic. 

Alec had left the two monkeys a moment in front of the TV, an episode of that cartoon that amused them so much, with those little monsters and the balls in which they were imprisoned. Magnus had tried to explain to him that it wasn’t so bad that those monsters, the _Pokémon?_ , were trapped in the sphere, and even Max and Rafael had tried to explain the dynamics of the story, but he wasn’t entirely convinced it was instructive. He had slipped into the bedroom and had changed, ready for a morning at the park with his children. 

In early spring, Central Park was a multicolored patch of flower buds and leaves of hundreds of shades of green. It was already crowded with tourists, but there weren’t many children on the slats and creaky wooden planks of the Diana Ross Playground, being a school day. It was one of Max’s favorite places, and although Rafael said he was too big (and too Nephilim) to play with those things, he actually enjoyed climbing the net and running across the bridges, reaching the snail slide and pretend that this huge, child-friendly wooden town was actually a pirates’ galleon. There was also a small accident, which fortunately had happened late at night, when the majority of Central Park patrons were now on their way home, in which Max had effectively transformed all the great chute arquebus into a sailing ship, black flag with bones and skull included. The sand below had become muddy and then began to glisten and sway like the stormy sea. Magnus had laughed like crazy while making the ship and the small pool of salt water disappear, but then he had to explain to a really sullen little blue Warlock that, no, he couldn’t become a pirate yet and that these things can’t be done in the open air, especially not in an area so close to a main street. 

The thing that Alec preferred, cause it amused his children to death, was to load the boys on the big tire that was hanging on the pillars of the swing and, from time to time while pushing the chains, without activating his stamina rune and being a good Mundane father, sink his hands on the sides of his children to tickle them. He also liked to chase them, although sometimes he pondered the idea of activating the agility rune. 

Then, the children started running around the garden, sinking their feet in the sand and raising a lot of dust. They climbed, slipped, slid and started again until one of the two, usually Rafael, threw in the towel and approached the bench he was waiting for them. 

And that day too, Rafael had decided to leave Max at the helm of the imaginary sailing ship and had reached Alec on the bench. 

«So? Are there any problems?» he asked immediately, not even the time to sit down. And he looked like an old man in a child’s body, with those dark eyes that squeamed him and his serious inquisitorial expression. 

«Rafe, we have a rule, mh?» Alec answered, his gaze fixed on Max, intent on giving orders like a real captain to the few children who were with him on the wooden pier. 

«The rule is only active inside the house,» the child deadpanned. And perhaps Magnus wasn’t entirely wrong, if they had done it with their own bare hands, he wouldn’t have been so much like them. «Come on, Daddy, Max is busy playing, and I’m old enough». 

Alec rolled his eyes, choking a laugh. 

«First, not even when you’ll have your first rune, you will be big enough in my eyes, my tiny and lovely Nephilim.» Magnus mumbled in his best velvety voice, appearing just behind them. «Secondly, nothing is happening, that’s why I went to the Institute and not Alexander». 

Rafe leaned back to look at the Warlock. «Papa, I’m big, I can know the things that happens in the Shadow World» he replied, relatively sullen. 

«Let me decide, since I’m a thousand years old, when and if you are old enough to know the things that happen in the Shadow World.» Magnus replied, an amused grin as he walked around the bench. 

Alec was striving really hard to keep himself from laughing. Even with his children, Magnus couldn’t be honest about his age. It was a fun game, according to him. 

« _Ah_ , come on! Not even two days ago you said you were five hundred years old or so. Today we go for in order of thousands?!» Rafael grumbled. «You only do it to change the subject. You always do this! I’m not stupid!». 

Magnus crouched in front of his son, and laid a hand on his knee. The gold-green eyes, without glamor that emitted this very sweet warmth. Perhaps a small part of Alec, the most childish, was a little jealous of the look he reserved for the boy, because it was something completely unique that could calm him almost instantly. «There’s nothing to worry about, at least not at the moment. If there were any further developments, we would tell you, mh? And then we would send you to a safe place if it will be necessary.» he grumbled, shifting his eyes for a moment on Alec. 

That was exactly when the Shadowhunter understood that his husband knew something, something that worried him. Then it was true, it wasn’t quite normal all that attacks on the Institute and perhaps the supposition of Magnus on the disappeared Warlocks had found confirmation. Maybe it was all connected. Maybe there was really something to worry about. 

«At that point,» he said, looking back at his son. «You’ll have to be really big enough, my adorable miniature of a Nephilim, because you’ll have to protect your brother too, alright?» he mumbled, a quiet smile stuck to his lips. The shoulders relaxed, and the eyes calm and absorbed in Rafael’s dark ones. 

«So I don’t have to worry, _really_?» he murmured softly. 

«Not for now. When and if you’ll need to worry I’ll tell you, okay?» he added, brushing the center of his forehead with a fingertip. «You’ll have more wrinkles than all your uncles put together, otherwise». 

«It’s hard not to worry.» he mumbled rubbing his palm against his forehead, as to make the wrinkles, which weren’t there anyway, disappear. 

Alec smiled. «Nothing will happen, it’s us.» he said softly. «We’re good at what we do, aren’t we?». 

He had no idea what to expect, perhaps he hoped in a nod, a small nod. Perhaps he hoped to convince him. But Rafael still seemed a little hesitant. «Can you promise me?». 

Alec inhaled tightly, gritting his teeth. If one thing had to be clear to his son it was that they would do their very best to protect everyone, he and Magnus, but he couldn’t promise anything. 

«I can promise you, Rafael.» Magnus whispered. «I promise I’ll protect you, mh? Is my word enough for you? I will protect you, Max and Alexander. I will protect your uncles and your dear granny. I will protect the people we love the most. Alright?». 

« _Magnus_.» Alec called him, perhaps in an attempt to scold him. Or perhaps just to drive away the little knot that had wrapped in his throat. 

But Rafael nodded and threw himself at his papa’s neck. «Just be careful you too». 

«I always am.» he replied, holding him tightly, keeping his eyes on Alec. «Now, little Nephilim, you should go and call Max, we’re going to eat, what do you think?». 

«Can I take another ride on the slides?» he demanded, removing that old-worrywart-man look and returning to be a child of only nine years. 

«Sure.» Alec nodded. «You have ten minutes. Then we go, I’m very hungry». 

Magnus sat next to him in utter silence for a moment, his head resting on his shoulder. He watched his children in contemplation, as if they were a prodigy of science, a masterpiece of an ancient and unknown art. Max still wanted to be a pirate in life, he wanted to own a sailing ship and rule a small crew and, above all, a green parrot that would be called Jolly. _Yep_. As for Rafael, he had always known what his place in the world would be, to preserve the interests of the Shadow World and to protect the Mundanes, no matter how foolish they were, and all the other creatures. 

«Do you remember the time he turned that whole playground into a sailing ship? You’re having a heart attack...» he whispered smiling wide. 

«You can’t promise him something like that, Magnus.» he murmured. «Especially because there’s something, right?» 

«Didn’t we have a rule, Alexander?» he grinned. 

«Your son pointed out that the rule applies only inside the house.» he hummed. «He looks a lot like me, yeah, but when he opens his mouth, he’s a little version of you». 

Magnus sneered. «We are growing them very well». 

«Mags.» He called him softly. 

«There’s something, yes.» he answered. «But, hey, you have a day off, you should enjoy it». 

Alec tightened his lips, in that slight grimace of disappointment he had when things weren’t going the way he wanted. «Magnus». 

«Okay, it’s a bit complicated,» he admitted. «It’s a big mess because we have little data to have certainties: we know that my wards have reacted and kept away, those creatures. From the videos I saw with your sister they seem...». 

«Something like skeletons. Something necromantic.» he grumbled. «I saw them too». 

«Yes, practically.» he nodded. 

«Can any of the disappeared Warlocks be behind this, what do you know?» he asked. 

Magnus sighed and shrugged, pulling away from him, still keeping his eyes fixed on the children playing. «Every Warlock has dabbled at least once in their life in necromancy. Not all with excellent results, let’s put it this way. Ragnor had a hummingbird resurrected around the house for weeks, before he managed to catch him again and let him return to the dead. Or Catarina tried with something bigger, maybe it was like an opossum... well, let’s say that the tapestry of her apartment was particularly affected». 

Alec knew that when he talked about the magical incidents of his friends, Magnus had made far worse ones. And maybe he had to give in and ask him what he had done with necromancy. Or maybe he had to go back to the main topic. «What did you do?». 

«No. Necromancy is a very dark magic.» he muttered quickly. 

Alec raised an eyebrow in his best unconvinced expression. «Don’t enchant me». 

«Okay, I might have tried to resurrect something small... but there was a _tiny catch_ in the spell, I made a mistake and... let’s say that in addition to resurrection it has also multiplied. Both in size and in number.» he grumbled. 

The Shadowhunter grinned and decided he needed to know more. «What it was?». 

Magnus covered his eyes with his hand. «Alexander... please, it’s embarrassing». 

«Oh, now I want to know: because if it’s a phase in the life of every Warlock, I have to know what will invade my house one day.» he replied «Since there’s a very curious little monkey who’s already started making magical messes...». 

«Okay, he was a lizard. _I very small one_.» he murmured. «I don’t know if you’ve read in the Clave records that in London many years ago were seen reptiles as tall as a man... they were described as dragons.» he muttered. 

It took all his might not to laugh coarsely, but, oh he did laugh out loud. 

«You dare to laugh at me, _Lightwood_ , really? You, the one who burnt waffles for dummies?!» he grunted. «You wound me!». 

Alec snorted softly. «The Clave tried in every way to intercept them and study them but they had disappeared». 

«I managed to reverse the spell.» he huffed. «Now can we change the subject?» 

He agreed. «How did we get to talk about giant lizards walking around London?». 

«We were talking about the skeletons that attacked the Institute.» he reminded him. «Isabelle says that it would be better to take one alive and study it». 

« _Alive_.» Alec repeated, amused. 

«You are in a really good mood, Lightwood.» Magnus grumbled. 

«It’s _Lightwood-Bane_.» he corrected him. «I suppose that if one is a skeleton, he’s dead too. So we could see if there were any bodies stolen somewhere». 

«You know it isn’t a bad idea? I’ll talk to Isabelle about it.» he nodded. 

«You should talk to Jace about it, he’s the Head of the Institute,» he replied, not even impressed. 

«Between us, Alexander, your sister would have been a better Head than your crackpot of a parabatai.» He muttered with a sneer. «She’s balanced and bosses around even me. She asked me to lower the defenses for tonight». 

«You didn’t listen to her, right?!» he mumbled bewildered. 

Magnus finally looked at him. «I told you that she bosses me around.» he clinched. «And it isn’t such a bad idea: she wants to capture at least one before the wards react to them, for tests. To confirm the hypothesis we have. And now let’s leave this speech for later, and let’s watch our little monsters play». 

«Magnus,» he called him, peremptorily. 

«As I told your son, you’ll know when there’s to worry. Today let’s just enjoy ourselves.» he nodded before returning to look at the children who had been chasing each other on the wooden bridge: Rafael ran away and Max tried to catch him. 

«But there’s something to worry about,» he grunted. «From how you talked to Rafe. You can’t promise him that everything will be all right». 

«I didn’t promise this, Alexander. I promised him I would protect you. And that’s what I’ll do.» e said, a light smile on his lips. «And you will do it too. When the time comes we will send them to your mother in Idris». 

«So there’s something to worry about,» he said. 

«Yup. It’s carking, Alexander. Because no other Institute has been attacked in these ways. So there’s something here that interests someone. And we have to understand what.» he mumbled. «Now, please. Do you want to leave the job aside at least half a day? We are with children, we are happy». 

Alec grabbed his neck and tugged him closer. Magnus hugged his hips and leaned back on his shoulder. «They laughed like crazy before». 

«Did you get the tickle on the swing attack?» He whispered. «It’s one of the things they prefer». 

«Yup. But they grow so fast. Do you believe that Rafael is nine years old? And Max seven?!» he muttered. «Soon Rafael will go to the Academy». 

«It will take another three years, Alexander.» Magnus pointed out. 

Alec sighed. «You know? I’m afraid the day they stop playing like that». 

«Why do you have to think about the future, now?» he snorted dramatically. 

«Because we have to think in perspective, Magnus. We are parents and our children will grow-up in no time. Rafael already looks like an old man... when he makes those big speeches. And Max doesn’t look like a kid any more sometimes.» He shuggered a little. « _Democracy_ ». 

«That is certainly due to all the time they spend with Catarina and Maia.» He sighed. «Let’s leave them more time with Jace and see how the kids come back». 

«Jace would make them wild.» he laughed. 

«He’s your parabatai, you’ve chosen him.» he replied amused. 

There was a moment of silence, where the air was filled only by the rumble of New York traffic and the crystalline laughter of the children playing. The light spring breeze was still rather cold at times, especially when the leaves of the trees covered the sunlight. 

Magnus sighed satisfied. «I’m happy, you know?». 

His heart made a strange beat, as if he wanted to jump into the stomach before re-starting to beat normally. Magnus was this: a marvellous being capable of saying something like that with firm low voice, like it was nothing, like it was obvious. «Are you saying now, or in general?» he asked, calling back all his might. 

«Now and in general.» he answered, pressing himself closer to him. 

Alec kissed his hair. «Well, I’m happy too». 

« _No_ , Alexander, I say _I’m happy_. Like I’m really happy.» he whispered. «As perhaps I’ve never been». 

The Shadowhunter raised an eyebrow. Really, Magnus? Marriage, maybe? The first night together? When they adopted officially their children? Maybe he should feel a little offended. 

«I say, _you_ make me happy. Since we are together, I am happy.» he explained humming. 

«Why do you tell me now?» He mumbled, his lips still in his hair, his eyes lost on the children who stood still at the entrance to the spiral slide and looked at them. 

Magnus sighed, still with some satisfaction. «Because every now and then it’s good to remember and remind you too. You make me happy, Alexander. Those two, those little monsters who are staring at us, make me happy. Even just being at the park, here with you, makes me happy». 

His heart made that strange beat again. «Even Elmo’s pancakes?» he asked, not finding the right words. And perhaps he should have shouted at him how happy he was, how he was satisfied with his life, despite the dangers, despite the worries and sleepless nights. 

«Even the infamous Cookie Monster’s waffles you burned years ago.» the Warlock nodded. 

«God Magnus! Once, it happened once!» he grumbled. 

But yes, he was _so damn_ happy too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, alright,  
> brace yourself for what comes next. You already know a little bit about what will wait for you, but... everyone deserves a little bit of angst, yeah.  
> The story is almost complete on paper, now the thing is write it down on pc, yep. Not a good idea. Nope.  
> But, I hope you enjoyed this little chapter today,  
> please let me know if there are any mistakes that make your skin crowl (even if they don't make your skin crowl, please let me know).  
> I don't use very much tumblr, but you can come say hi to me here  
> [@lamalefix](https://lamalefix.tumblr.com/)  
> Have a nice weekend :D  
> Thank you for reading


	3. Blood Aegis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shadowhunter again dragged Magnus’s face under his neck, and with his hand on the nape of his neck, he just swayed.
> 
> «Let’s go back inside.» the Warlock muttered, pulling back.
> 
> «Give me a kiss.» Alec grumbled, narrowing the distance between them, as if it were possible, and taking possession of his husband’s lips without being shot. Magnus seemed to hesitate for a moment and then let himself go, he finally relaxed his shoulders and quickly returned the kiss.
> 
> He wished that was enough to erase that day, which had begun perfectly but was gradually becoming a good crap.
> 
> Magnus sank more into the kiss, which gradually became more slippery and deep. But then he withdrew, as if he had suddenly awakened from a dream, and looked at him. «After this, we’ll need a vacation. A really long one.» he huffed, but he didn’t have a playful tone, he just seemed tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there!  
> Thank you all for all your support!  
>  **PLEASE NOTICE** that some tags have been added: from here on out there will be minor spoilers from The Bane Chronicles, The Codex and tales from Shadowhunter Academy.  
>  It's been ages since the last update... sorry for the wait. I've been really sick from the last update (I took a lot of antibiotics for something that hasn't been cured completely... yay!) and I'm back on studying for two exams to get access to a national selection. Yeah, so boring...  
> So, here it is, I hope that a little (32 pages) chapter would be enough to apologize for the wait.  
> Have a nice read, see you at the end of the chapter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#  Blood eagis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Alec had been asked to describe the perfect day, not even in his most rosy dreams it would have approached this.

They had managed to keep everything, the work, the Institute, and those little worries away from that little bubble.

They had chewed at the park a little longer, the children’s laughter almost covering the traffic noise coming from Central Park West. Then Alec had convinced Magnus, who insisted he wanted to open a portal, to take a real day off and be Mundanes, take the subway to get to Williamsburg. Doing things calmly for once couldn’t be so bad, and in fact he wasn’t wrong.

The kids’ eyes were shining, while sitting in the restaurant waiting for their bacon burgers, and every time a waiter came out with those plentiful dishes, they pulled up their little heads like little lemurs trying to figure out if that were or not their orders. Magnus had made sure to keep them busy, making a pile of crayons appear with a snap of his fingers, allowing them to draw on the restaurant brown paper placemats, making sure to ask for two more to replace the small scribbles masterpieces just before the dishes came, resting, all greasy and overflowing on the table.

Magnus had a certain thing for the kids’ drawings. Alec had suddenly found out one day when he was looking for something in the study, something that had to do with the black market, some ingredient that was needed for a potion and the Warlock was too much committed stirring in the cauldron to be able to do it alone, and a bunch of drawing had fallen on him as soon as he opened a closet. Magnus jealously kept them, wrote us behind the date and put them aside, as if they were real works of art. Alec had asked him why he was so attentive, all the children even the Nephilim, drew a lot, keeping them all aside was a sheer madness. His husband gave him this theatrically wounded look, and he had mumbled something to the order of the Shadowhunters’ insensitivity. But then, he understood: the years when they would have been so small and so imaginative, would have been very few and they had to remember in some way that innocence that they would have lost by clashing with reality. Or maybe Magnus was a creasy hoarder. Probable, by the way.

They had eaten, then. The kids in devouring their bacon burgers had soiled the expensive clothes that Magnus and Isabelle had chosen for them. Alec had tried to talk some sense into those two, make them understand that it wasn’t necessary to spend hundreds, if not thousands, dollars in clothes for children so small and so easily prone to get dirty; and even when they were older, you could live well enough with synthetic t-shirts, he could swear it.

To get home, they opened a portal, but not before trying to dispose of the heavy and greasy baconburgers, taking a short stroll to McCarren Park.

As soon as they got back, they had settled down in the living room, sitting on the floor playing that sort of Star Wars Monopoly, also kindly offered by Simon. Usually, games didn’t last that long, because Magnus got bored really fast. Magnus, not his children. But this time, it was the kids who were rather tired. Max had his head dangling from his sleep even before the second round ended, and Rafael had yawned about ten times between the first roll of the dice and the second.  Magnus had seized the opportunity with both hands and suggested that the game should be interrupted, they would have continued the next day, and that they could have watched a movie instead, flopped on the sofa.

The kids didn’t have to be asked twice, they had taken place on the couch and Magnus had sat in their midst, beginning to look in the Netflix catalogue for something suitably quiet, eventually opting for one of the many Pokémon movies, already seen over and over again. Alec had just turned his nose, sitting on the floor, moving only a little to rest his back on the couch, his shoulder rubbing against Magnus’ calf, and his head just leaning back on the big pillow. Surely it was much better to watch his husband then those poor monsters trapped in the spheres.

He felt quite tired too, and Magnus was not trying to keep him awake as he stroked his hair slowly, curling it between his fingers and rubbing his skin. And it took very little to feel the eyelids getting heavier, the breath completely lulling until it became absolutely stable. In the distance he could hear Magnus and the kids’ voices humming the opening song of the movie, and he had tried to moan it a little too, before his tongue and his vocal cords opposed completely.

 

 

When he had woken up, he was all crippled and already he seemed to hear Magnus whit that sing-song of his “You’re beautiful and young and you may have angelic blood, but if you sleep like this you’ll have a stiff neck”.

But he had immediately noticed that had changed: his husband, in all his glory, was sitting next to him, on the floor and sharing a board blanket with him, his head, resting in the crook of the Warlock’s neck, who was tugging him close by his waist, in an impossibly intimate gesture. There were two cups of tea on the coffee table in front of them, and it didn’t take long to realize that he had made it appear with a snap of his fingers.

He had raised his head to look around, a hand rubbing his eyes. The sun began to sink behind the buildings, colouring the sky of this soft orange hue. The room, half dark if not for the television turned on, seemed even more cosy, with that light coming from the large windows.

And maybe Alec should have photographed this moment, the absolute normality, the peace. Everything was shouting home, family. The kids were both crumpled up on the couch, two blankets on them: Max was sleeping with his head resting on the big cushion of the sofa, a blue just a little paler than his skin, to which he was clinging with legs and arms; Rafael, on the other hand, was curled up on the opposite side, his head sunk in a blue pillow, but his hand came out from under the blanket and his finger occasionally moved slightly; then, Magnus was next to him looking at him as if he had hung the moon in the sky.

The movie murmured on the TV as a distant memory. And maybe he had looked at Magnus that way sometimes too. He hoped to have done it at least once, looking at him with eyes that showed complete adoration, and not simply love, indescribable warmth and devotion, as if they were telling him that he was the only one in the world, that only he existed in that moment. and no matter how many times Magnus had looked at someone else like that, he knew there was something else between them. Not only that oath that chucked on their left ring fingers, not just their kids, there was something else that maybe he couldn’t possibly name.

Being with Magnus was the easiest thing in the world. It was so easy to love him, that he was almost frightening at times. It had become more natural than to breathe. It was as if a voice in his chest told him that it was right that way, that it had only to be there, that that was enough. And certainly, it seemed something trivial, if not completely cliché. But it was the only way he had to describe it, because being with Magnus was like losing words and not being able to find them again and having to learn them from the very beginning. Like being at your own wedding and no longer being able to remember how to say “I do”, because there is nothing more obvious than a “I do”, and there would be no other place you want to be. It was like running in a hurry and crashing into a streetlight and finding the world downside-up, a pleasant upside down that allowed you to see anything in another perspective, new and impossible. But it was also simply waking up in the morning rested, even though he had slept only a handful of hours, a warm bed and tangled legs. It was coffee in the morning. It was a hot bath to wash away the tiredness of a too bitter job to give lasting satisfactions.

Being with Magnus was the simplest thing in the world, yet he was something so special, spectacular and one of a kind. And maybe that’s why it was so hard to find the words, maybe, that’s why he couldn’t not be trivial.

Magnus, now, had a slight curious expression, his eyes probing his face, as if to understand what he was thinking.

It didn’t take long to forget completely that there was a movie on TV, those little monsters who were croaking their weird verses, and that his husband, until he had opened his eyes, was looking at it with all his attention, even if the volume was very low.

It was Magnus who approached first, rubbing his nose against his like an Eskimo kiss. Alec moved just to shoot a light kiss on the lip of his lips and then another and another, up to go down on his neck, chaining small snaps on after another. Magnus let out a dull moan, which forced Alec to suffocate a slight laugh in the crook of his neck.

Always the same, after all this time.

Perhaps, they had to stop, it was not something that a good parent would have done in close proximity to their children, especially since the situation could escalate quickly, heating up sooner or later. And the kids were always in that famous life stage when their sleep was really very light.

Before he could even formulate this thought, and bring it to his too busy mouth, a rumble rose from the couch.

«Ah, get a room, you two!» growled Rafael rubbing an ee with the palm of his hand. «Go to your room and do your things... I stay with Max, since I am the only responsible adult, here».

Alec stopped there, as if he had become a granite statue, while his husband, in all his staggering grace, turned away from him, chuckling.

«You’re only jealous because I don’t cuddle you enough!» he muttered, stretching out on the couch to hug the little Nephilim.

« _Urgh_! You’re so embarrassing!» he grumbled softly, putting up a very little resistance to extricate himself from his papa’s arms. He was giggling.

A slight smile reached Alec’s lips, melting him from his granitic position.

«You wound me, Rafe.» whispered Magnus in a playful tone. «Maybe I need to tickle you a little…» he decided, moving just a hand under his son’s legs in the soft skin behind his knee. The little Nephilim’s weak point.

«Oh, no, please!» he mumbled, laughing and kicking up a little.

Magnus stopped and kissed his hair twice. «You are so beautiful when you laugh!».

«You are so embarrassing, you see?» he grumbled again, his voice trembling, and even in the dim light of that room it was clear that the kid’s ears were red like a tomato. «I’m just saying you should take some time for yourself, one of these nights. Maybe go out for dinner and do your things without us being around,» he suggested. «So maybe you’d be less… embarrassing?».

«We’re not embarrassing, we just love each other.» Alec whispered as he approached the two of them and picked up Magnus’ hand and brought it to his mouth. «And then papa is right, you’re really beautiful when you laugh».

Rafael made that lovely sulking face. « _Dios_ , you’re so cloying!».

«You love us for that.» Magnus smiled softly.

«Tickling!» Max chirped, getting up from the pillow, his face still particularly sleepy.

«You’re awake, eh?» Alec mumbled, retrieving the little blue Warlock and bringing him closer to the resto f the family before starting to attack his hips with his fingertips.

«How long till you have to bring us to Lily?» asked Rafael.

Alec stopped, and his eyes darted over his eldest son. He seemed already saddened.

«We still have to arrange it, but I think she will come here.» Magnus sighed. «She will stay with you until we return».

«Yup! So, I can show her the dragon plush grandma gave me! I’ve always forgotten to take it to the Hotel!» Max mumbled, satisfied.

«We shouldn’t be too late… but probably she will put you to bed, she has a lot of stories about her adventures to tell you.» Magnus added.

«Why can’t you take us to the Institute with you? We can sleep there, and then you can reopen the portal and take us home, right?» Rafael muttered.

And that question was enough to make Alec’s blood freeze. Magnus looked at him briefly, before turning his eyes back to the little Nephilim.

«I mean, I mean… if there’s nothing to worry about… we can come with you, can’t we?».

«Rafe is right,» Max added, looking serious. He sometimes made this wise old man expression too. «We have not played with uncle Jace for so long. Of course, he will make less trouble with us around».

«Or more, it depends.» Rafael said, grinning. «Come on, papa… can we? Leave us with Lily tomorrow».

Alec swallowed twice. He had to find the right words. He didn’t want to make them worry, but on the other hand he didn’t want to take them to a dangerous place like the Institute, especially these days.

«It isn’t such a bad idea to come to the Institute with us, you know?» Magnus said quietly, in his best relaxed expression. But the shoulders were tense, a clear sign for Alec. «In fact, you could keep an eye on uncle Jace, so at least he would have some lovely accomplices for his mess. Let me hear a moment if the uncles agree, tough, mh?».

«Magnus?» Alec called him, to scold him.

«So, let’s see for a moment. Daddy and I are going to talk about it in my studio. Eventually we’ll give the evening free to aunt Lily,» the Warlock smiled. «Come with me, Alexander?».

The Shadowhunter bolted up, not bumping the coffee table on which were those two cups of steaming tea, for just a few millimetres, and followed his husband into his studio.

The Warlock was already letting his magic work to soundproof the room. The blue fire hung like smoke on the shelves before splashing into another corner until it finally disappeared completely. The door closed behind him.

Alec had already raised is finger, in his best inquisitive expression, which bay the way had never worked on his husband, when Magnus raised his hand. «I agree with you.» he told him, even before he spoke. «But I didn’t want to make them worry».

«Do you see what happens when you lie?!» he growled.

And when the other looked at him guiltily, Alec realized what he was thinking: if he had been clearer, it would have been easier and there wouldn’t be no reason to lie, instead there was little communication and it was necessary to say those four or five tiny lies. Adjust reality just not to make them worry. «You don’t want to bring them, right?».

«If the attack should happen, and if it were to be the same intensity as the previous ones, there isn’t a reason to worry, right?» he answered shortly.

«My sister has asked you to lower the barriers.» he reminded him and decided that he wouldn’t deal with this topic standing up, not in there at least, that anything could be easy to trigger a curse or some alchemical reaction.

He then hurried to move a pile of books and scrolls of parchment that looked ancient but inoffensive, from an armchair and took a seat. The room was in that usual orderly chaos that distinguished a Magnus particularly absorbed in his work and therefore he had to put everything exactly where it was before. It was the only room where the kids were still not allowed, too many dangerous things in so little space for two children who were not particularly blunderers, but they could still bump something and at least set fire to the whole apartment.

Even Alec had been banished from that room, after that time he had bumped into the pantry of potions ingredients and a flask of mandrake root powder had collided, breaking ruinously, with the Chinese dragon beard paste jar. The two substances had reacted and had triggered a small explosion, generating incredible concatenation of chemical and magical reactions in the pantry. And in the end his arm got hurt: half burned and half paralyzed. Magnus had cursed flat out, and not only for the damage to his ingredients, some of the vials had suffered irreparable damage and he had to make a jump in various Shadow Markets around the world to be able to supply, but also and above all for the terror of not being able to heal him. And so, he had been banished from the studio, until the Warlock had put the ingredients in a safer place, “Far from the poor grace of you Nephilim” he had said, and then added something like “Agility rune my ass”.

So yes, better sit back on that armchair.

«We’ll find another way,» grumbled Magnus. «Let me think, mh?».

«No, no way.» he growled and perhaps he was already regretting sitting down, because that way he lost all his authority, authority that he had never used with his husband. «They aren’t like us, they are children».

«They can’t defend themselves, yeah, I know.» the Warlock muttered, leaning his shoulders against the bookcase, his arms folded. «The attacks, however, happen well beyond their curfew… I could perform a little spell to make them sleep more and more deeply, we could ask Clary to let them sleep in her room, she at least will keep an eye on them and I could raise a further barrier to protect the room».

The Shadowhunter covered his eyes with his hand. «God, you’re really thinking about it!».

«Alexander, do you really want to happen another week after the Accident?» Magnus hissed. «I don’t know you, but I didn’t sleep that much that week because our child, over there, the one who wants to act like an adult, was terrified by the eventuality, quite palpable, however, to lose you. And between us, I too was really scared that time. Because you’ve been a breath away, eh? I felt you slipping away.» he replied, all in one breath. And when he was lost in that river of words, it meant only one thing: he was upset.

Alec swallowed. He knew it: surely, Rafael had been scarred by the Incident, but Magnus had lavished almost all his energy to cure him, and even he, even if he had kept his cool, he was terrified. Because yes, he was leaving, and he noticed it too.

«I remember.» he nodded and tried in every way to avoid raising the tone of his voice. «I remember it,» he repeated, eyes closed. He had learned that, even with just his eyes closed, he managed to recover a minimum of calm. Not that it happened very often, but when it came to his family it was easy to lose his temper. «But it’s dangerous, Mags».

«We’ll be there with them.» he mumbled.

«I know, but…» he sighed. «You said the situation was alarming, and you did say it how many, three hours ago?».

«Yeah, but bringing them today would allow us to have clear field the next few days. Go back and forth from the Institute without difficulty, if the attacks were to continue».

«They will.» Alec grumbled, and it was certainly not a question but a statement, sensing where Magnus’ topic was going.

«Of course.» he nodded. «But until we understand what they want, we won’t be able to intervene. Therefore, I think is worthwhile to bring them today. Because the attacks don’t seem powerful enough to be a real threat to the Institute and to them».

«Magnus…» he sighed. And it was a sigh full of requests and words, which didn’t necessarily have to find a way to his mouth , it was enough that emission of air. It’s dangerous. Think carefully. Protect them.

«I know, Alexander.» he murmured. «I know it’s dangerous, but not if we are both there tonight. Basically, only your mother is missing, and the Institute is at full strength. I’ll have to lower the wars and raise them as soon as we catch one alive… but you could stay with them in Clary’s room».

«Rather, we’ll leave there Jace and I’ll be out with you.» he replied.

Magnus pursed his lips in an amused expression, just for a moment. «He will keep them awake. And they’ll worry».

Alec couldn’t help but nod. «Right».

«Furthermore, we are practically at full strength: even if Clary is really very pregnant, I think she could still open up a portal to bring them back here, if necessary. We’re just missing your mother, and the Institute is full».

«Six people are not full of strength for nothing.» Alec replied, rolling his eyes.

«It isn’t my fault if the Angel, in his great and infinite wisdom, has thought well to ascend only a few people,» he replied. «And then, you wound me, Alexander. I am a High Warlock, we are more than six people with my magic. My magic and I make at least two more people».

Alec couldn’t stop the slight smile that was stretching on his lips. «And since when are you and your magic only two people?».

 «Right, I forgot my ego! Three, three more people.» he nodded. «Three people, but if calculated as Nephilim, well, we would be at least thirty people».

«You’re terrible!» he mumbled, and his amused expression suddenly disappeared and sighed. «Do you think it’s the right thing to do?».

«Absolutely not, that’s why we should do it.» his husband answered, with one of those roughneck smiles and then finally reduced the space between them, he crouched in front of him, as he had done so many times in very different contexts, his hands on his knees. «It’ll be fine.» he said, his voice firm, his tone serious. «It’ll be fine».

His eyes gave him an incredible comfort: warm and sincere, as if he had the situation in the palm of his hands, as if he were sure they will manage. And perhaps he had to make those eyes suffice, like that, like reassurance.

 

 

 

In less than an hour they had arrived at the Institute, a lot of bags of the Thai takeaway, enough for an army, in their hands.

The children had prepared their backpacks putting in their pyjamas and some snacks, in short, the basic necessities. Rafael had brought the book he was reading at the time, to go ahead of some chapter before going to bed, if Magnus and Alec hadn’t had time to tell them the story before tucking the covers, and he would read it out loud because the story also excited his brother. And Max had instead brought his stuffed dragon, the one that Maryse had given him, because he wanted to show it to everyone at the Institute.

As soon as they arrived, there was Isabelle, in her vertiginous heels and in a dark, not particularly long dress that made the diaphanous complexion that she shared with her brother stand out even more. She had the most dazzling smile Alec had seen her do in the last few weeks, and maybe because there were her two nephews visiting, or perhaps because Simon had come home.

Jace had ambushed the kids and started chasing them everywhere. Simon and Beatriz had had to tackle the Head of the Institute and force him to leave the kids free, but he had also had them dragged in playing catch, until dinner time arrived.

Clary had candidly withdrawn after a quick chat with Magnus about the precaution for the evening, the Thai cuisine was too spicy for her, she had picked up her fair share of white rice and had locked up in her room.

The kids had started telling their uncles about their day, their mouths full and the smiles printed on their lips. Rafael had pointed out how he had managed to find a loophole to the numerous rules of the Lightwood-Bane household, triggering the general laughter in everyone present.

Alec couldn’t enjoy the moment, it was a bundle of nerves. Of course, the kids were having fun like crazy, and they were absolutely not thinking of something worrisome, Magnus was right, bringing them there would now exorcise their fears for an imminent future. But he couldn’t quite calm down.

Obviously, his husband sensed something, at some point, and simply rested his hand on his thigh. The faint glow of his magic ran through his skin for a moment, and perhaps it calmed him down a little, or perhaps it was simply the warmth of his palm that gave him confidence.

Magnus conversed amiably with the others, telling Beatriz in his deep and velvety voice a certain anecdote of his last visit to the Academy, dating back a few months earlier, something that had indeed infuriated both Vivianne Penhallow and Catarina. The kids listened to him, captivated by his words. Simon nodded and occasionally made a flying comment, he must have been there that day, and everyone else laughed.

Magnus had always been a good storyteller. Even when there were no kids yet, Alec liked to be lulled by his voice, before falling asleep. He liked being told old stories, some were definitely invented out of thin air, others had an ancient flavour, they spoke of reality, of lives lived.

He was always colourful in his stories, but when they started narrating to their sons he had to change his vocabulary.

After a short while, Jace stood up and gave him a knowing look, waving him to follow him to his office.

Alec had reluctantly moved away from Magnus and the kids, he wanted to keep an eye on them anyway, as if the alarm had already sounded, as if he was already protecting them. And the only thing that could be dangerous here, at that moment, was Izzy too close to the stove.

«You are restless,» Jace told him as soon as they left the dining room. «I feel it, Alec».

«Yup. The kids here… it’s not a good idea.» he sighed. «But Magnus isn’t wrong, bringing them now can reassure them».

«Magnus’ plan was as usual approved first by your stele and then by your brain, right?» he asked.

«Hey! Look, it isn’t me the one that half of his life let decide his lower parts.» he grumbled gesturing briefly below the waist.

Jace didn’t seem to want to reply, an allusive sneer on his lips and raised eyebrows. His classic “I don’t regret anything” face. «Well… anyway, for once we have the situation under control, so you can try to calm down.» he yammered, with some satisfaction. «And the Clave has offered us support if the issue gets worse. Beatriz has already contacted Julie, she should join us in two weeks».

«Magnus thinks there may be some connections with some strange disappearances happening in the Warlocks community.» he mumbled.

«Yes, Izzy mentioned me the matter a little…» he sighed as he opened the door to his office.

Alec scratched the back of his head and snorted. «Look, you know how Magnus is… he thinks Isabelle is—».

«Actually, it’s convenient for me if he talks to Izzy,» he interrupted immediately. «Clary need my attention now, so it’s up to Izzy that whole series of trouble, reports, information… it’s very boring to be the Head…» he snorted and sat down behind his desk. «Now I understand why you ducked out… I would go and slap my hands in every single bar to get rid of the frustration»

«I ducked out, as you say, to go live with Magnus.» he muttered. «Besides, you’re a firebrand…» he added, sitting down in front of his parabatai.

«Don’t you want to switch out, do you?» he asked.

Alec didn’t even think about it: it was a big pain in the ass being the Head, in the period in which he had governed the New York Institute first and then the London one he had realized that these things were not cut for him and his nerves. Especially for his nerves. «You could take some time off when your child will be born. I assure you that it’s a mess when you have little munchkins. The Clave won’t give you a break, you’ll have to approve budgets, missions, make reports… that is the things that usually are done by Clary, and have been speeded up with the computer but… it isn’t really the right work for you, I would say…» he smiled softly.

«Ah, thank you, urgh!» he mumbled. «Please, would you mind remembering me how it happened that I found myself in this position?».

«Well, you got Clary pregnant,» he deadpanned.

Jace snorted loudly. «No, I meant the Head’s position, you were certainly more qualified…». And maybe he knew that Alec had understood on the first lap and just wanted to make fun of him.

«Because I prefer to work with the Downworlders,» he replied. «And then because, being the Head, I had to live here. And you know that Magnus comes down with scarlet fever even only at the idea of staying here longer than necessary. And it’s not really a place for kids, this. Especially not for a kid who cry and make things explode.» he replied. «And then, Maryse trusts you, and you’re a good leader. Who can’t write reports in a decent way, but yes. A good leader.» he nodded. «Luckily there’s Clary doing all the dirty work».

He put a hand to his chest, the expression bewildered. «You wound me, Alec!».

He glanced at him unimpressed. «I live with the Drama Queen in all his might, you can’t really compete».

And his parabatai snorted loudly.

«Then? Two months to go, eh?» Alec said. «We never really got the chance to talk about it. Shaken?».

«I’m scared stiff, you know?» he admitted, the eyes of that pale gold wide. «I was raised by Valentine, I don’t know how to do it».

«You’ve also been raised by Maryse and Robert…» he reminded him, his brow furrowed. And when Jace cut him a baffled look he sighed. In fact, they were not exactly the perfect example to follow. «Yeah, okay, they won’t win the parent of the year award either... but they were good, being Shadowhunter parents. And then I remember how good you were with Max, when we were kids. And I am well aware of how you are with my kids… it will come naturally to you. And then you’re a good person. And I don’t say it cause you’re my parabatai».

«It’s not the same thing. Clary was raised by her mother, by Luke… they given her anything…» he muttered. «I grew up with the dictation “To love is to destroy”, therefore…».

Alec sighed and leaned his head back, sinking more on his seat. And maybe it wasn’t really the right day to deal with this kind of topic with his parabatai, but maybe it would have helped to think of something else. He folded his arms and looked at Jace. «You changed, right? For all of our general astonishment, you have changed. Being with Clary has made you a different person. To love isn’t to destroy, right?».

Jace seemed to grasp the concept, and then nodded slowly. «No, in fact».

«And you would do anything for her. And you would do anything for your son, I would assume.» he replied. «You’ll be a good father trust me».

The Head of the Institute snorted again. «Ah, but you are Alec Lightwood, the child whisperer, you don’t count».

«It’s Lightwood-Bane, we’re married, try to remind you. Plus, you should spend less time with Simon.» he commented, a light grin on his lips.

«First, I didn’t see any ceremony; you did it in secret. Secondly, I said that it’s natural for you…» he murmured. «I don’t know what to do, Alec».

Alec rolled his eyes, he really didn’t want to deal with the marriage subject again : it was a totally impromptu thing, just not to lose a bet with a very drunk Maia who had challenged them to marry, Magnus had laughed and glided on topic, as usual. He didn’t even expect him to find himself with a ring on his finger, though he always kept the family ring with him to put it on Magnus’ finger at the right time. And the right moment had been that morning of seven months ago; to his surprise, Magnus had snapped his fingers and had shown him the papers of the Town Hall, already filled out, with two copies of their documents (which he had perhaps made appear in the city records with another snap of his fingers). It was unromantic, to sign a contract basically and find themselves before a municipal officer who, with the power conferred by the Mundanes Law, declared them officially married. However, his words that day—Better not to think about it, otherwise he would have melted there, in the Head’s office.

He decided to go back to the main topic. «Well, actually, the first time you held my son you almost knocked him down…» he muttered impassively.

«Hey! He had done everything!» he reminded him. «Besides, you dare to speak? Magnus didn’t look so well when he realized you wanted to keep Max!».

Alec scratched his neck and shrugged. «It has nothing to do with us, this thing has rained on us: Max wasn’t in the plans. We had been together for a while, but… we didn’t know where we were going».

«And do you think I know where I’m going?» He asked.

«Sure. You wouldn’t be with Clary, otherwise. And yes, you are married, rune on the heart and everything else.» he replied.

Jace seemed to metabolize this obviousness. It seemed that he was brushing the answer he wanted to give him against his palate, as if to take more time. «I’m shitting myself the same,» he finally admitted, picking up his forehead, his blond hair falling over his long, dark, warrior-thick fingers. «What can I do?».

«For starters, I think it’s a bit late to pull the oars,» he replied. «You know, your wife is really very pregnant and... I would also remind you that she is trained to kill, so you can’t get away with it easily, you know. And last but not least you love her».

Jace remained silent for a moment, his head still in his hands. He was mulling.

«You love her. And you will love that child. End of story.» Alec remarked. «You will not be like Valentine, you’re a good person».

His parabatai looked up at him, a strange expression on his face. From the rune came a confused signal, of various mixed emotions. «What if he doesn’t like me?» He grumbled, and came out like a whisper, almost imperceptible.

Alec frowned, not shure he understood well enough. «Who?».

«What “who”? My child! We were talking about that, Alec!» he grumbled.

«My kids love you.» he shrugged.

«Of course, I’m the cool uncle. The one that will certainly buy them their first beer and cover them when they do bullshit!» he nodded in contentment.

He, for a moment, prayed really hard that Clary would instil in him a minimum of commons sense, in the years to come, even beating him out of him, just so he wouldn’t have to explain this diabolical cool uncle plan to Magnus.

«Besides they’re big boys.» Jace kept saying. «And they wouldn’t be my problem if they were babies, crying and eating as their main activity in their lives».

Alec smiled and shook his head. «You are hopeless».

«Eh! See, you say so too! And you are my parabatai, you should give me strength, comfort me! _Geez_!» he replied.

«You have more flaws than virtues, that’s for damn sure.» he muttered with his best indifferent tone. «But all of you, qualities and faults, warts and all, are what make you _you_. Your child will adore you, and not just because it’s the blood of your blood, or just because you’re a beautiful person.» he nodded. «But because, simply, you’ll love them. Kids don’t care about much else. It’s enough that you love them and that you’re there for them and that’s it.» he added and quickly returned grave. «Anyway, did you want to talk to me about something?».

«Actually, I just wanted to give you the chance to calm down, Alec. You even get me all worked up, and then Clary too freaks out… those pregnancy hormones are taking my sleep away… and I don’t want to sleep on the couch again.» Jace snorted. «But in the end, I needed a chat with you…».

«On the couch?» he asked, frowning.

«Ah, forget it! Last night, she was so angry that I didn’t wake her up to help us during the attack, and she eventually sent me to the couch… do you believe this? She’s very pregnant, for God’s sake!».

Alec burst out laughing. «Eh! It’s the hormones, or is it because you steal all the blankets and kick her? Even I would throw you out of bed, if it were so».

«You should spend less time with Magnus, really.» he grumbled, mocking him. «Is it possible that you two never fight?».

He shrugged. «We are a couple like any other, Jace. And Magnus is certainly not a very pregnant young woman right now, but there are times when real dramas are grazed. Usually we always find the right way to smooth our divergences. If it can make you feel any better, he threatened a sex strike last night».

The Head of the Institute raised his hand to protest, his eyes closed. «Here, these are the things I don’t want to know about, Alec. Thanks, that’s okay».

«To make you understand that we still have little differences,» he snorted loudly and finally the agitation that weighed on his back disappeared. «We had a good day, thank you for giving me a day off».

«You’re joking right?! Your husband would’ve filled my office with ducks, alive, certainly not rubber ducks… if I ever had not let you have a day off!» he sighed.

Alec grinned. «He is really convincing».

Jace snorted. «You’re still terribly sappy. After all this time… when you talk about Magnus your eyes shine, like the first day».

«As I your eyes didn’t shine every time you talk about Clary.» he replied. «Even before, when you complained about the couch… you did it with some satisfaction».

«Ah, shut up!».

«Anyway,» he mumbled, trying to get back to talking about work.

«Anyway,» the other continued. «We examine in depth that lead on that Warlocks lead… if this evening Magnus and Isabelle manage to analyse one of those skeletons—»

Even before Alec could assent or his parabatai could continue the sentence, someone knocked on the door. A very light, almost imperceptible sound.

«Come on, in» said Jace.

And when the door opened, the two kids entered the office. Rafael in his dinosaurs’ pyjamas, and Max had on the one with the duckies, which Magnus had bought only to annoy Jace, and certainly it was no accident that he had brought it to the Institute today.

«Hey there, monkeys.» Alec muttered as he stood up. «Let’s go to bed!».

«Aunt Clary told us that we’ll sleep in her room with her.» Rafael nodded.

«So, I’m gonna sleep on the couch tonight too, yay!» Jace snorted.

«As soon as we finish our work, we’ll take them home.» Alec replied rolling his eyes huffing, he reached his kids and offered them his hands. «That’s the deal, right?».

«Yes, but you promised me that you and papa would tell us a tale,» Max groaned, he was already sleepy.

«Oh, but sure little monkey. Surely papa will be ready to tell you about one of his adventures.» he mumbled and started down the corridor, towards Jace and Clary’s room.

The kids walked slowly, even if they had slept a little in the afternoon, they must have grown tired. Certainly, due to Jace chasing them all over the Institute, and certainly even their morning at the park got them weary. Max was already rubbing his eyes before he was put to bed, and Rafael had crouched next to his brother without saying anything, the dragon plush Maryse had given the little Warlock among them.

«Where is papa?» Rafe asked.

«He may be talking to aunt Iz, you know how talkative he is when it comes to clothes and hair and stuff like that…» he muttered. «I can tell you a tale in the meantime. And tomorrow we’ll tell it together, mh?».

«All right,» Max snorted, without making too many tantrums. «Word of honour?».

«Word of honour. Cross on the heart.» he nodded. «So, what story do you want?» he asked.

Alec remembered clearly the fist time they told a bedtime story. Max was small, he was with them for just two months and had decided it wasn’t a reasonable option to sleep at night. Alec was destroyed in those days, weary beyond measure: he wasn’t used to night with a crying child because he was teething, and the Clave breathed on his neck for certain changes to the safety of the Institute, no t to mention the demons and Jace who as per usual was a troublemaker. Sometimes, Magnus had tried to make him sleep with magic, but even his little spells hadn’t had the desired effect: the little Warlock slept a few hours and then woke up, barking like a bald eagle. All the three of them were in bed, one night, Alec was half unconscious, not even all the stamina runes activated could give him a minimum of extra vitality, and even Magnus was quite knackered, even if he had that magic of his and it was still decidedly fabulous, spending all day with a complaining child had had a strike on his nerves. Suddenly, Magnus decided it was a good idea to start talking to the child who continued with his subdued whining, while he chewed that little fluffing toy in his mouth that gave him blatant relief. He was holding him in his arms, his hand on the back of the tiny blue Warlock. And Alec had followed Magnus, talking softly and continuing the story. A sort of fantastic tale about Warlock and pirates and dragons, and even before they got to the end, the baby had dozed off and slept through the night.

Or when Rafael was not at home with them yet, and they went to visit him in those brief trips they could carve out in Argentina, they had managed to bond with him even more by reading books, telling him brief anecdotes to make him know them better. He listened to them captivated, his eyes fixed on them. And it already tasted like home, family.

It had become somewhat a tradition, and it was one of the moment of the day that Alec kept most jealously in his heart, and had many memories of evenings spent telling stories, with Magnus making little magic tricks to add a little colour to everything, to help the kids’ imagination and guide them in a peaceful sleep

He hadn’t even reached the middle of the story, one of Max’s favourites, with main characters Elmo, dragons, pirates and magic, that both the kids had sunk into their sleep.

Magnus had entered shortly before, just in time to kiss them goodnight and sit next to them. He had then tugged the blankets to the two kids and let his magic flicker on them, to make them sleep more deeply and longer. And then he had raised an additional ward on the door and windows of the room, just as a precaution.

 

Alec, after spending a few more minutes sitting on the bed next to them, had entrusted the kids to Clary, without adding anything but a look of complete trust and had preceded Magnus in the Head’s office.

Isabelle had already settled everything up. On the screens, installed by Clary shortly after her assignment as Head of the Institute, the frames of the last evening attacks. «We have at least two hours before the attack.» she announced. «I wanted to see last night videos with all of you, maybe we’ll see some more details… before lowering the wards».

«Do you want to lower the wards?!» asked Simon, frowning. «I mean, don’t let it bother you, but… I don’t think it’s a clever idea. Maybe they are waiting for this, they attack us in a few and not sufficiently powerful units and, as soon as we are safer and decide to lower the wards… zac, here they are, in hundreds and very powerful».

Alec stared at him. It didn’t seem a bad reasoning. And something snapped into his head. The dynamics of those attacks were not sensible, it wasn’t aimed at something. Rather, they seemed to be trying to enter their comfort zone, and when they would lower their guard, they would attack them with well-bred forces.

«We have to capture only one, alive… that is, relatively alive…» Jace muttered. «The others will be pulverized by Magnus’ wards».

«That’s a bad idea, I agree with Simon,» Alec said. «And not because there are my kids here, not only at least. But because it doesn’t seem to make sense, of all this.» he grunted with folded arms. «If they really wanted to attack us, why do they keep doing it with these not particularly powerful things? Why not with some real demons and not these necromantic evocations that have nothing... threatening?».

Five pairs of eyes looked at him.

«We have Magnus, today with us. And maybe if there weren’t his barriers, they wouldn’t be pulverized so quickly...» Jace mumbled.

«And what if they wanted this?» Simon suggested, and Alec stared at him, perhaps with too much intensity to freeze the other and make him stammer. «Yo bro, not... not that I want to cause anyone to panic... but here the only thing we have different from the other Institutes is Magnus. He created our wards, didn’t he?».

Beatriz seemed to agree, she nodded slowly. «It seems a good argument. We have been wondering for days what we have that make us so special and... yep, it’s Magnus».

Alec had lost his words. And yes, even though Simon had sought a periphrasis to keep him from panicking, it was actually a bit late. But he had somehow managed to pull up what the Mundanes call “poker face”, and then maybe he would have an ulcer before he was visibly worried, but he was terrified. Hell, if he was.

«As far as this inflates my ego, why do you think it can be me and not one of you, the main interest of your mysterious enemy?» asked the Warlock.

«Because they are testing the wards.» Isabelle murmured, finally realizing where Simon and Beatriz wanted to go with their reasoning. «It makes sense: each attack slightly increases the number of something that practically pulverizes in contact with the barriers. But gradually, you learn from your mistakes and perhaps, they have found ways to empower them. Think about it, the barriers take more and more time to destroy them... it’s practically like trial and error...».

Alec looked at his husband, in realization. «Those are attempts to overcome your wards and enter».

«Enter here? But here… it doesn’t make any sense at all! We have the alarms and—»Jace began to say, but then he looked at him. Perhaps his parabatai had again felt the panic, the terror that gripped his throat and dried his palate.

«No, the target isn’t the Institute.» Simon muttered. «But the other place protected by its wards...».

Alec felt something mount at his throat, like a sudden nausea. He swallowed twice and tried to find the words. Without succeeding. Did they want to come to their house? Really? It was terrible. That was the safest place he knew. «Our home.» he mumbled finally. «The target is our home».

Magnus stepped back until he reached one of the armchairs, sat down and gathered his forehead in one hand.

«Is there anything at your house that might be interesting?» asked Izzy. «Something that maybe the Clave doesn’t know anything about?».

Magnus thought about it in silence. His eyes flashed like lightning, as if he was trying to think, to remember. Suddenly, he jumped up and began watching the videos. Luckily Clary at some point had gone against the rules of the Nephilims and had insisted on making a leap in the twenty-first century, with various computers and machines. «I’ve to see something. Do you mind set up a magnified shot of the head of one of those creatures? I think I saw something today, but I didn’t read too much into».

Simon hurried to the keyboard and, a moment later, a zoomed frame of one of those rotting skulls showed up in front of them.

«They really are ugly.» murmured Beatriz, looking out on the screen. «What are we looking for?».

Magnus retrieved a piece of paper and began to sketch a figure. A series of lines that didn’t seem to make any sense. «Can you make it a little clearer? Blacken that sort of rune on the forehead?».

Simon worked quickly to carry on the order and, shortly after on the rotten skin it was possible to see a little more clearly something that, yeah, seemed a rune, indeed.

«Mags, what’s that?» Alec asked.

His husband looked at him wide-eyed, without glamour, pupil dilated. «Shit.» he hissed.

«Magnus?» Beatriz mumbled.

And Alec didn’t even have the time to scold him about his language.

«You still have those samples, don’t you?» the Warlock muttered, looking at Isabelle, who nodded. «Those that we have analysed today together, I need you to look for one thing: Warlocks’ blood. We searched for demonic traces but not specifically Warlocks’ blood. The Mundane coefficient that compose the blood may not make the sensor react, not in the same way that happens instead for the demonic residues. Start directly with those of last night, and then go to the previous days...».

«I’ll go.» Izzy nodded, hurrying to the lab.

«Why Warlocks’ blood?» asked Jace. «Could you possibly be clearer? And what is that?».

Again, Alec met his husband’s eyes, dark and deep as night, again hidden by glamour. For a moment he seemed to be plumbing his soul and then, he saw it, that tiny flash that they made, almost imperceptibly, when he was upset.

He glanced at the symbol, then, it looked like a rune, and yet he had something sinister: two concentric circles, three lines intersecting in a dull sign, very similar to a triangle whose sides, however, that composed the upper vertex, continued and ended in two half-doodles.

«This,» Magnus began, tapping the sheet with his pen, then briefly pointing to the screen where they can saw the same symbol he had drawn, on the purulent forehead of the skeleton. «This is a _blood aegis_ ».

«We should understand what it is alone or... can you explain it to us?» Jace asked. «Try to understand me, I do not like the suspense».

The Warlock stared unimpressed at the Head of the Institute. «It’s a very obscure type of necromantic evocation. Magic really really dark. I thought it was a Warlock to have it imposed, but...» he murmured, and began to play with the wedding ring, letting his thumb slip on the metal band. «You use Warlocks’ blood to impose this kind of seal, or if you prefer rune, on corpses, the more they are decomposed, the better. It allows you to govern them as you like...» he murmured. «My wards react to everything. Warlock’s blood included, so... they behave as they would with dangerous Vampires, unfriendly Werewolves and Demons of any race or size...» he added. «I’ll have to double-check all the videos, but I’m pretty sure that at the beginning they were simple skeletal evocations, without aegis... but the evocation is too weak, that symbol was used to make them more powerful... increasing the amount of Warlocks’ blood and above all increasing the _donors_ , let’s say... they would be able to enter here. Or in our house...» he rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

Alec quickly moved towards him. «Mags?».

«Our house is well protected.» he murmured and, moving his hand and revealing his cat eyes just for a moment. «My wards there are much stronger than here: the perimeter is inferior and obviously they don’t have to hold such a powerful and cumbersome glamour. But if it’s like I think, or rather as I fear, and Isabelle’s analysis will give a positive result, the blood aegis was created with the blood of ten of the eleven disappeared Warlocks.» he mumbled and backed away to sit back. «And yeah, we’re in shit, Alexander. Because certainly it will take many Warlocks to overcome my barriers. It will be a real bloodbath».

Alec lost his words, all together. It was clear that Magnus already had something in mind, that he knew something more about those events and that he was trying to get to the point, preparing him somehow because if he had come to define a situation in those terms, it really had to be disturbing.

«Our home is well protected,» he repeated. «Without going into too much detail, the wards there is certainly thicker and more powerful; and certainly not because I do not dispel my energies to reinforce those of the Institute, but simply because that’s my home, and it has been it for a long time, and it’s the place where I spend most of my days.» he mumbled and pointed the eyes on the others present. «To make you understand: it’s as if everything in our house responds to my energy, as if it were nourished and reflected back that magical energy to strengthen the wards».

«It sounds complicated, » Beatriz murmured.

Alec cleared his throat, trying to find at least the train of thought. He was talking about someone dangerous, someone who wanted to come to their house. «Do you think it was the eleventh?».

«I’m afraid it is, but only partially.» he nodded without even turning around and rubbed the ring finger between his fingers, as if to fix the wedding band. «And we’re in shit for this. Because, if it were as I believe, it would be, yes, the prisoner missing from the Spiral Labyrinth... but not only, this particular _blood aegis_ can’t be used by a Warlock without the support of a Greater Demon».

Alec took in his breath, his jaw clenched, so that the air seemed to screech between his teeth. A Greater Demon, there was a Greater Demon in the city, trying to get into their home. Possible? There had been no reports.

«Who is this Warlock?» asked Jace.

«Your question is wrong, Barbie. It’s not important who the Warlock is, but who the Demon is.» he murmured, his tone heavy, but without the usual dramatic vein that he forced into certain speeches. He was worried, genuinely worried. «Although it is presumable that it was him, Barnabas Woe, who summoned the Demon».

«Never heard of him,» said all the others, including Beatriz, who seemed the most knowledgeable about the Warlocks community.

Alec remained silent, watching his husband. He decided it was a good idea to concentrate on his hands: it would help him focus on the subject and feel less of that worry that continued to mount in his throat. The fingers of his left hand seemed tireless, his thumb continued to run along the side of the wedding ring and spin it around the ring finger, the other fingers moving by reflex following the movement of the thumb; his right hand held his head, his chin sunk against the fingertip of his thumb, his forefinger encircling his cheekbone, the middle under his nose pushing his upper lip, his other fingers closed on his palm. The black nail polish shone with every movement, reflecting the light.

Suddenly, and perhaps only a handful of seconds had passed, Magnus sat upright in his chair, ran his right hand through his hair, but didn’t mess it.

«It’s normal you don’t know anything about it, the Clave has an agreement with the Spiral Labyrinth over its prisoners. Absolute confidentiality.» he murmured. «And Barnabas was a prisoner of the Clave, before returning to the Labyrinth prisons. And... we could call it a gift from the Clave, in 1962 just before the signing of the Seventh Accords.» he mumbled before sinking even further into his seat, his head tilted back.

«Why? Why do you call it a gift from the Clave?» asked Beatriz, slightly confused.

«As you know, with the signing of the First Accords, in 1872, the persecution of the Warlocks was officially declared illegal. The Accords guaranteed rights to the Warlocks and legal permission to practice demonic magic, particularly when investigating and carrying out Nephilim tasks.» he murmured and waited at least a hint of consent before continuing. Simon nodded. «But it was only with the Fourth Accords that the laws that prohibited the collaboration between Shadowhunter and Warlocks and the use of any magic deemed necessary were officially revoked».

«And this was with the Fourth Accords. We know the history of the Accords eh...»Jace repeated.

«The only noteworthy thing that happened in the 1962 Seventh Accords was that vampires were forbidden to create subjugates.» Simon grumbled.

«Yes, but over the years the Clave has always tried to ingratiate the powerful from the first attempt to sign the Accords. Nothing new...» he grumbled, throwing Alec a knowing look. «But, they had never really taken a step in this direction if not modifying the Laws they had created, by the way,» he whispered. «In 1962, a few weeks before the signing of the Seventh Accords, the Clave proposed a motion of transfer from Alicante’s prisons to the Labyrinth’s.» he grumbled. «Being a particularly obscure, cruel Warlock... they didn’t feel like keeping him in Alicante. And because he was followed by a large handful of Warlocks... they didn’t want to risk reprisals and... they gave him to the Labyrinth.» he shook his head.

«You’re practically saying that the Clave had avoided killing him to circumvent retaliation?» Simon asked, puzzled.

«And not to find themselves having to kill dozens of Warlocks who followed Barnabas blindly.» Magnus added, as if it were obvious. «You know? It is not really a good guarantee to kill dozens of Warlocks, in the immediate proximity of an update session of the Accords».

Nothing new. Alec repeated in his head.

«It would have been against the Accords. To each their own...» Beatriz mumbled. «But... why had he been imprisoned? I mean, if he was just a cruel Warlock... there were not many differences with many others, right?».

Magnus shrugged his shoulders. «He tried to summon a Demon Superior, which however you see it is quite illegal even for the Warlocks, although it has been legalized the practice of demonic magic and can be carried out in extraordinary cases under the watchful control of the Clave... but the problem was in his magic. Incredibly unstable and, judging by the evocations is still very unstable today. Basically, something went very wrong and he created a rift between our world and one of the Infernal realms. We managed to close it without too many victims, but rightly the Clave took him over, without giving us the chance to destroy him. They wanted to understand what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go. And then returning him some years later... apparently, this time he succeeded. He managed to summon him...» he murmured and fixed his eyes on the door.

Alec followed his gaze and the worry caught up in his throat again: Izzy was back, and even his expression breathless and astonished seemed to be a proof of her husband’s concerns.

«Positive. Ten different markers from last night... I would say ten different Warlocks...» she mumbled. «I have analysed backward, and the markers decreased in number... until the second day, when there is only one marker. Only one Warlock the first night... was that what you feared?».

It was the confirmation that they were waiting.

«Damn it.» Magnus nodded, and began rubbing his left ring finger.

And Alec couldn’t help noticing how his husband’s back was stiff, and how often he had left the wedding ring to rotate around the ring finger, moving it slowly with his thumb. And, perhaps he did it unconsciously, but he did it every time he stirred, as if the metal band gave him some reassurance.

«I’ll update you,» Simon said quickly, and hurried to brief her.

Magnus looked shocked, and never in his life with him had Alec seen him so terrified. Not even when Valentine held the Soul Sward. He approached the armchair and held out his hand. «Hey, come with me for a moment?».

«Alexander, I ca—» he tried to oppose, but the Shadowhunter took his hand and dragged him away from the others, out of the room, just for an instant.

In the corridor, he dragged him into a corner far enough from the door of the Head’s Office. He looked at him in silence for a moment, before cupping Magnus face in his hands and hurriedly kissing a corner of his mouth.

«Alexan—» he began to say, but he stopped short: Alec had hurried to hug him, in silence.

He had read somewhere, perhaps in one of those hairdressing magazines that his sister kept lying around the Institute’s common areas, that hugging someone who was experiencing a distressing moment, a worry, a little anxiety, could help to think more lucidly and to calm down. Which actually seemed quite obvious, thinking about it. He continued to enchain little kisses on his jaw, climbing slowly on his ear stopping in his hair and breathing slowly the scent of sandalwood of his shampoo. And maybe it was not just for him, but for himself. He needed to calm down, to feel his husband in his arms.

«Alexander.» He muttered, as if to call his attention.

«Another minute.» He murmured softly.

As soon as Magnus’ shoulders seemed to surrender to the embrace, seemed to dissolve the tension, Alec loosened his grip just a little. «It will be all right, we will find a way,» he said slowly, but perhaps that sound had not come out very convinced from his mouth.

«The kids. We have to send them to Maryse. Immediately. They can’t stay here, not if they try to get into our house. Not if that Demon wants to come to our house. It is well guarded. It’s well protected... but if one night they follow you... they could cross the wards...» he murmured, and then his eyes widened, even more. «I can’t risk your life or theirs. God, Alexander is also dangerous to open up a portal to the apartment, if they found a way to break down my wards—if they followed the trail of a portal...» he shook his head again.

«We’re gonna be okay.» he nodded, but perhaps Magnus had noticed that slight flicker in his voice. Alec was angsty, perhaps more than his husband, who had always preserved his incredible savoir-faire without ever having too much trouble. And seeing him like that, so frightened, made his throat was tight. «We’re gonna be okay.» he repeated a little more convinced. And he had to convince himself because certainly with Magnus next to him he was certainly strong and lending, however frightening the idea of having to fight to protect their home, in the true sense of the word, was.

«Alexander...» he sighed, clenching his jaw. «We have to go back».

Alec tightened his grip on him, without opening his mouth. He tried to lavish all his warmth, his affection in the Warlock. He tried to get under his skin, to reassure him as much as possible. He couldn’t have everything on his shoulders. «Hey, happy thoughts. We have the kids here... happy thoughts».

«Happy thoughts.» Magnus repeated, swallowing hard and looking into his eyes. He seemed more relaxed now. And maybe it was about those two little words. _Happy thoughts_. It had become a mantra, when things seemed to turn to the worst, when stress seemed to devour them, when everything seemed lost, they had found a way to exorcise terror in this way, with those two words.

The Shadowhunter again dragged Magnus’s face under his neck, and with his hand on the nape of his neck, he just swayed.

«Let’s go back inside.» the Warlock muttered, pulling back.

«Give me a kiss.» Alec grumbled, narrowing the distance between them, as if it were possible, and taking possession of his husband’s lips without being shot. Magnus seemed to hesitate for a moment and then let himself go, he finally relaxed his shoulders and quickly returned the kiss.

He wished that was enough to erase that day, which had begun perfectly but was gradually becoming a good crap.

Magnus sank more into the kiss, which gradually became more slippery and deep. But then he withdrew, as if he had suddenly awakened from a dream, and looked at him. «After this, we’ll need a vacation. A really long one.» he huffed, but he didn’t have a playful tone, he just seemed tired.

«Do you really think he’s after you?» Alec asked, not completely moved away from him.

 

«It’s a long story, I want to talk to everyone directly.» he sighed. «Let’s go inside».

Alec couldn’t say anything more, he just stood there, holding him against his chest just for a while longer, before taking him back to the office of the Head of the Institute.

Jace stared at him for a moment, as soon as they returned. He had evidently sensed his concern growing. And maybe he wanted to tell him something that could ease the tension, but he just offered him a chair, not far from him, that he did not hesitate to occupy. He would not have faced this standing story either.

Beatriz did not allow Magnus not even to sit down and began to grill him whit questions. «Why did this Barnabas want to summon a Greater Demon? And then he found what he was looking for? And what was he looking for? And now, why do you think he succeeded?».

The Warlock sighed and returned to sit in the armchair he was sit beforehand. «We need to start from the beginning.» he muttered.

And perhaps Alec could feel the slight change in his tone, if he was worried before, now he was back in his storytelling mode. His voice was stern, it tasted of the ancient breath of time.

«Barnabas was one of Aldous Nix’s apprentices. Aldous has practically grown him up.» He murmured. «In the last thirty years of his very long life, Aldous has had essentially only contacts with him. Strictly speaking».

«Aldous Nix?» Jace repeated.

«The High Warlock of Manhattan who decided it was a really great idea to take a stroll in Pandemonium, not the club that is a blast by the way, but the demonic city... it was crazy.» Beatriz grumbled, giving free rein to her knowledge about the Warlocks community.

«I couldn’t describe him any better, my dear.» Magnus compelled, his forehead frowning as he slowly moved his head to the side in a nod.

«So, let me understand well,» the Head of the Institute mumbled. «This Barnabas was an apprentice of Aldous Nix. And I get it. And this Aldous was crazy. So, is it to be supposed that even this Barnabas is a little soft in the head?».

«Practically, yes,» Magnus replied, just giggling, he seemed finally relaxed. «The fact is that, being very close to Aldous, Barnabas has followed his absurd ideas...».

«Ideas absurd?» Izzy asked.

Magnus shrugged, as if shivering. «Aldous was incredibly old.» he said in a heavy tone, as if he were afraid of what he was saying. «And like all the Ancient Warlocks, he was immensely powerful and lonely as well... he lost his mind with age, he gradually moved away from reality. And being about two thousand years old, he decided it was a very smart thing to open up a portal on the Void, to access Pandemonium... and leave all the Mundanes’ bullshit in this side of the portal.» He grumbled. «He was under the impression that Pandemonium was our rightful place, the place where the Warlocks could live with their fellow men, with their progenitors...».

«Did he manage to get there?» Simon asked.

«My father said that, in a sense, he had achieved his goal. He was killed by a Shadowhunter, I couldn’t avoid it. I couldn’t prevent his blood from activating the portal and...» he sighed «And his body was swallowed up by the portal».

«And Barnabas?» Izzy asked. «Barnabas, what does he have to do with all this?».

«Besides being insane.» Jace remarked.

«He was extremely young when Aldous took him in, perhaps even less than ten years old... and so he was practically modelled on his ideas. He was so attached to Aldous, who followed his absurdities blindly. And among many others, he was convinced he was the son of a Greater Demon.» he mumbled.

«Like you.» Simon pointed out. «I do not see why denigrate so much this conviction...».

Alec raised an eyebrow, waiting for a sharp response from his husband that, no, he didn’t wait long.

«Like me, Sherman, yes.» he nodded. «With the slight difference that my father and I resemble each other, and I evidently inherited something that reminds me every day that I am the son of Asmodeus.» Magnus hissed, and made his cat eyes flicker for a moment, before making them disappear in that reassuring chocolate colour. «In addition to his immense magical ability which, of course, also flows in my veins».

«Well, could he have been this Demon’s son, or not?» Jace grumbled, looking slightly confused by this story.

«Impossible. Barnabas is one of the _Nineteenth century children_. At that time, since the Warlocks were still persecuted by you Nephilim, some of us decided to flesh out the Spiral Labyrinth, forcing hundreds of women to mate with the demons most easily controlled by our magic...» the Warlock he sighed, in an extremely theatrical gesture, sinking more in his seat with arms wide open. «And then there is the little detail of Aldous who had succeeded in convincing Barnabas that he was the son of Belial».

«And it could not be?» Izzy asked.

Magnus rubbed his forehead. «Sherwin, Catarina said you were the top student at the Demonology course at the Academy, do you mind doing the honours?».

Simon shook his head. «No, it could not be. Belial is thought to have appeared only once, in the First Incursion. When Sammael began the Incursion with the Demons: in the Clave’s registers no mention is made about his other appearances... the only thing we know for sure is that Belial was at the General of the Infernal army at the time».

«But there’s Asmodeus at the head, now.» Jace mumbled.

«It’s not that simple, Barbie.» Magnus sighed and got back to turning the wedding band around his ring finger, letting his thumb slide against the metal band. «It’s true, Asmodeus is currently head of the demonic army. But, at the time of the First Incursion, at the head there was Belial...» he murmured. «But Belial couldn’t control his demons, they didn’t respond to his orders, so he decided it was a good idea to sell Sammael’s skin to establish himself at the head of the infernal legions. The Archangel Michael could kill Sammael thanks to the information Belial passed to him... it’s said that Glorious cut Sammel like butter, especially because Belial imposed a bit of demonic magic on the blade.» he grumbled.

«Glorious, the sword that Simon used to sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace?» Izzy mumbled.

«That one.» Magnus nodded. «Obviously, the other Princes of Hell weren’t particularly enthusiastic about the turn that the matter had taken... especially because Belial never succeeded in ordering his demonic legions to attack the Angels and the Earth... and to continue the Incursion. At that point Asmodeus took over, and managed to arouse the demons as he pleased...» he muttered, shivering slightly.

«And why didn’t the demons do as Belial pleased?» Asked Beatriz. «That isn’t in the Academy’s books of demonology...».

«Because Belial is not a Fallen Angel with pure blood.» Magnus answered. «Unlike Lucifer, Azazel, Asmodeus and Sammael... Belial was originally a half-bred. Half power and half virtue. I don’t remember if you study the _De coelesti hierarchia_ at the Academy. If not, I should have a copy at home... I can lend it to you.» he murmured and waited for an answer from the girl.

«No. I read it. But all these details about Belial weren’t there.» she muttered.

«Well, it’s a dissertation on the angelic hierarchies. It seems obvious to me that you can’t talk about demons in there.» Jace replied. And five pairs of eyes stared at him, disconcerted, including Alec. «What? Look, I’m not just handsome, you know?».

Magnus rolled his eyes and decided it was better to postpone. «The demons, which were even more beastly centuries and centuries ago, couldn’t follow his commands because of this impure blood... although when he was an Angel had asserted himself as General, once he became a Greater Demon he could no longer be obeyed. That’s why he decided to make this agreement with Michael: he wanted to be respected and not seeing this respect recognized by the demons, indeed, he asked Michael for absolution, in order to return among the Angels in his position of command, in exchange for those famous information about Sammael. He was just thirsting for power»

Alec finally found the words. «What happened next?»

Magnus seemed to sink even more in his seat, as he looked at him. «Michael didn’t absolve him, of course. He couldn’t: now that his angelic blood was corrupted... he was a Fallen Angel. He couldn’t do anything but leave him where he was.» he sighed. «He didn’t kill him, though. He allowed him to redeem himself with his actions, in the hope of being able to call him among the angelic hosts later. Obviously, there was no redemption, he didn’t even try to change his life. And from there he earned his epithet, "the worthless", the impure among the impure».

«But the other demons didn’t take it well.» Jace mumbled.

«Not at all.» He nodded. «Lilith, being deprived of Sammael, had Belial attacked by Asmodeus, Azazel and Mammon, and I think that even Baal and Belphegor armed themselves and attacked him. They tore him to shreds and Lilith banished Belial into the Void, without the possibility of accessing Pandemonium to regenerate himself and without the possibility of being like the other Princes of Hell. He could never rule, he never had his own realm, he could never have his own army.» he muttered.

«Well, but it doesn’t mean he’s been in the Void for eternity...» Izzy murmured.

«No, in fact. He managed to escape thanks to a Warlock...» Magnus mumbled. «And ... I don’t know, do you know the Saint George and the Dragon legend?» he muttered.

«Yes, of course.» Simon nodded. «St. George killed the dragon to free a princess or something like that».

«Why do you know it, you weren’t a Jew?» asked Beatriz.

«All kids love the stories about knights who defeat dragons,» the Shadowhunter replied, shrugging. And Alec could not disagree.

«Let’s say it’s an allegory.» Magnus moaned. «St. George was not very different from you. It certainly appeared long before your dear Jonathan Shadowhunter... but he too was anointed by the Grace of the Angels. And he was given an angelic weapon. Ascalot.» he grumbled, moving his hands slightly, in a very dramatic and fluid gesture. «A spear whose blade was made of a translucent white metal, smooth as glass but much much heavier».

«The Adamas.» Isabelle mumbled.

Magnus nodded his head. «It had been forged from the scythe of the Angel Azrael, the angel of death,» he grumbled. «Especially to kill the dragon».

«And what does the dragon have to do with our story?» Jace asked.

«The dragon was Belial.» Alec mumbled, finally realizing where Magnus was going with his story.

His husband nodded. «Having been suspended in the Void for centuries, without the possibility of totally regenerating itself, he had absorbed all the energies and residues of other creatures that crossed the Void to get to Pandemonium...» he grumbled. «He acquired the power to change his body and once summoned by this Warlock...».

«Would it be our Barnabas?» Jace asked.

«No. Barnabas was born in the late nineteenth century. Judging from what my father said, Belial devoured this other Warlock.» he whispered. «However, in his dragon form, he began to bring havoc, managed to rule some demons that began to sow panic and death.» he sighed. «George, who was a wise, upright and courageous man, was anointed by the Angels. And he was given the task of killing the dragon. And for him he was only, that, a dragon. And maybe even the Angels didn’t believe it was Belial».

«Did he do it, did he kill him?» Beatriz muttered.

«Sure. The legends are true, my dear.» Magnus smiled and raised a finger, as he did when he wanted to emphasize a concept. «In theory he must, like all the demons killed, be catapulted to Pandemonium to regain his strength and regenerate himself, but...» he shrugged. «Lilith had banished him... so he returned to the Void».

There was a moment of silence.

Then Simon slowly raised his hand. «That doesn’t really explain why Barnabas couldn’t be Belial’s son, I mean, he has appeared a few times on Earth, but... maybe he has managed to impregnate some women».

«Of course, it’s possible. But there is no news of an appearance of a Greater Demon of Belial’s features around the nineteenth century. And... Barnabas was completely yoked by Aldous Nix’s words. Aldous wanted to convince everyone, even me, that it was a great idea for us Warlocks to go and live among their fellow in Pandemonium. It was Aldous who convinced him that he could be the son of a dragon-shaped demon... but as I told you, it is very likely that Barnabas was one of the _nineteenth century children_ , a son of a demon powerful enough to procreate a dangerous Warlock, but easily subjugated by a Warlock’s magic».

There was a moment of silence. It seemed that everyone had to metabolize that information.

«Belial was the dragon. But it really was not...» Jace noted.

«I see you are following Barbie.» Magnus commented, and the Head of the Institute nodded in contentment.

«And are we really sure he couldn’t be Belial’s son?» Simon mumbled.

«Okay, it’s complicated. Let’s say that Aldous never failed to point out that he had succeeded in convincing one of his disciples to be the son of a Greater Demon.» he mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. «He believed that once Barnabas had acquired more familiarity with his power so unstable, and therefore presumably powerful, he would be able to use it for his plans...» he nodded and shivered slightly. «But, in fact, he presented some characteristics of Vetis Demons: long neck covered with scales and oblong snake-like arms».

A shiver ran through Alec’s back. It must have been horrifying, Vetis weren’t a great view. Imagining someone with more human features with oblong snake-like arms. Horrible.

«And you’re sure it was Barnabas?» Simon continued.

«He was a great manipulator, Aldous... very charismatic. And he managed to hide the obvious origin of his mark: I remind you that he was practically a gullible boy who, like most of the Warlocks, just wanted to have someone beside him...» he sighed. And Alec noticed a certain affection, as if he were sorry that this Barnabas had ended up in the hands of a deranged man. Or, as every time we talked about Warlocks, he was thinking about his past and what he had to endure as a child, he and many others like him. «If I remember correctly, Aldous told him to let some dragon scale be seen properly. So that everyone knows what his legacy was.» he muttered.

Jace sighed. «He plagiarized him, yeah... but do you have anything to support this? Warlocks marks are all very different from each other, and not all refer directly to the demonic parentage... so it can also be the child of another Demon...».

«Yes, it’s true... Max and Catarina are both blue, but they certainly are very different in their genealogy...» he nodded. «But I have some information to confirm: it was Ragnor who had the certainty that he was the progeny of a demon Vetis, I repeat, Aldous made no secret of having plagiarized him, he said it clearly».

«And how did you confirm this?» asked Beatriz.

«When Ragnor was teaching at the Academy, a few kids thought well to play a joke on your ancestor, Barbie...» he grumbled. «James Harondale, Tessa’s son. The demon ended up killing one of the bullies, one of the Cartwrights children...».

«It will be a hereditary thing...» Simon said, snorting.

Magnus seemed to mumble in assent. «Long story short, the Academic Council, pushed a little by the Consul, decided to cover it up a bit, reducing the news to a minimum... however, the atmosphere in the Academy was tense and James couldn’t stop thinking that at any moment something similar to that Vetis, and say that they aren’t really a balm for the eyes, could attack. Then Matthew Fairchild, an ancestor of your dear and very pregnant wife, asked Ragnor a way to reassure his future parabatai…» Magnus grumbled. «And then Ragnor imposed a little spell on the ring of the Harondale... the one you have on your finger, Barbie».

«Um?» the Head of the Institute hummed, looking at his hand for a moment.

«The ring would begin to emit a little heat wave whenever it was close to the blood of a Vetis Demon. Whatever shape it took.» he nodded and licked his lips before continuing. «Once, Aldous and his apprentices did a Demonology lectio magistralis at the Academy. And James told Ragnor that one of those Warlocks had Vetis blood.» he shrugged. «Ragnor confronted Aldous about it, and he told him that yes, that was true. But that his apprentice was convinced he was Belial’s son. And then he began to rant about all his usual series of crazy ideas about the ultimate destination of us Warlocks and the fact that Ragnor somehow had to convince me to open up a portal on the Void. Luckily, he was a wise person, Ragnor, good soul».

«Alright…» murmured Jace, finally convinced.

«That’s it. That… and the fact that my father told me that Mammon, the Greedy, may or may not had grabbed a souvenir… from, let’s say…» and he gestured randomly to his lap. «Belial’s lower parts…».

«Ouch! By the Angel.» blurted out Simon, widening his eyes and gritting his teeth, while covering his family jewels with both hands.

«Yeah.» Magnus nodded slowly furrowing his brow.

«Alright…» repeated Jace, swallowing a lump in his throat and then sinking his head in the palm of his hands. «Alright, now I need to wash my ears and brain with bleach…».

«It’s just a legend. I hope.» added the Warlock.

«I hope that too, indeed.» commented Beatriz, a hand on her mouth.

«Let’s say that this Barnabas and that Aldous are just zealot.» decided Simon trying to put himself together.

«That’s undoubted.» nodded Magnus. «And you have no idea how much I need a Martini, right now.» added jumping out of his armchair. Looking at him closely, he seemed really worn out. «So, if you don’t mind, I would drink one or a dozen before we go on».

Alec bolted up, and hurried to follow his husband, throwing a brief glance at a very upset Jace.

He walked behind Magnus in silence.

«You didn’t answer me before,» he pointed out.

And his husband stopped, just turned his head toward him and gave him a sharp look. He seemed to swear under his breath, to the order of those Nephilim and their sneaking steps. But then he just smiled. «I don’t think that’s something to do with me, Alexander. Not directly, at least».

«But you were there when Aldous died.» He murmured. «Maybe he did take it personally, right? This Barnabas is deranged…»

Magnus snorted. «Yes, well... he certainly is, but… he wants a book. He wants a book of spells that I have. That was given me by Asmodeus.» He closed his jaw. «A gift. Dating back to our very first meeting».

«What book?» he asked.

«Alec, please, I really need a Martini. A dozen Martini, actually.» he mumbled and turned completely, his eyes were stern. And judging by the fact that he hardly ever called him that way, he evidently didn’t want to talk about it, not now. «Then I would really like you to hug me and I would like to go see my kids, our kids, who’re asleep. And then we’ll have to go back to your brother’s office and face this subject again, so I really need to do these things first».

Alec leaned toward him and again tried to give all his warmth, his love, to Magnus, hoping it was enough to reassure him. «Everything is gonna be alright».

«I knew that book would get me a lot of trouble.» he grumbled, sinking his face under his neck and inhaling nice and slow.

«You have a lot of books that could bring you trouble, Magnus.» replied the Shadowhunter, the tone more playful he could. «Get yourself a Martini of that place you like, and then let’s go see the monkeys».

«Didn’t we have a rule of not making food and drink appear?» asked the Warlock.

«A little wise man told me today that our rules only apply at home.» he mumbled kissing his temple. «Come on. Permit granted, alright? Snap your fingers, do your Warlock thingy and drink your Martini, I’ll wait for you with the kids».

 

 

Alec found Clary still awake, with a charcoal in her hand, she was drawing a small portrait of the two sleeping kids, while humming what looked like an old lullaby. And to see them there, those two, who slept all cowered in the double bed next to their really very pregnant auntie, for a moment made him forget that they were in danger.

«Jace sent me a message,» Clary murmured, her eyes green in his.

«You should go to Idris too. You are pregnant and...»

«And leave Jace to rule the whole shebang?» she grumbled. «He would make everyone stripped of our runes and exiled in less than a minute, at least... or, best-case scenario, we would be condemned to exile in Wrangel Island».

Alec rolled his eyes and snorted, before sitting next to her on the bed, legs crossed. «Clary, you know he isn’t that bad».

«I know.» he shrugged, shivering slightly. «But stay in Idris...».

«I know that Maryse can be unfriendly... trust me, I know, but with her grandchildren she gets better. And you’re... pregnant, Clary».

«Don’t remind me. My bladder is really uncooperative, and... certainly, this child will be just like his father, kicking all day, damn it.» she mumbled again.

Alec couldn’t hold back the light smile that was stretching out on his lips.

«It’s serious, is it?» she asked.

«Magnus is worried. And you know, he isn’t one that worries about nothing... I think it might actually have something to do with the shine of his hair or getting wrinkles...» he commented, without really wanting to make a joke but still tearing her a smile. «So yes».

She reached out and put her hand on his. «We’ll find a way, Alec. As always».

Alec nodded and stayed silent staring at his sleeping kids, smooshed together, only divided by the stuffed dragon. One of Max’s arms thrown on Rafael’s side.

And Clary moved slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position for her belly, for her back, for everything. She cursed through clenched teeth.

«I spoke to Jace today.» he said suddenly.

«About this, I guess,» she muttered, pointing randomly to her baby bump. «He’s shitting himself, right?».

«Quite a lot» he sighed nodding.

«He’s super brave to take that blessing and go killing demons is super brave, if it were for him, he would throw himself in a Ravener’s mouth... but tell him to change the diapers, and you see that he runs away for the hills.» she snorted.

Alec looked at her, a grim smile on his lips. «You know he will worship your kid. He will like to be a father... a bit of healthy terror is good. Even Magnus was shitting himself when we took Max».

«I remember it,» she said, eyes closed, nodding her head.

«I also remember your terror perfectly.» He muttered, cutting her an eloquent look.

«Oh, come on! You wanted to put a tiny blue baby in my arms!» she grumbled. «Gosh, I’m scared too, but ... let’s say...» she waved her hand in two concentric circles over her baby bump. «Let’s say it’s quite evident in what a pretty good fix I got myself…».

Alec giggles softly. «Jace is scared because he fears he’s not up to it. He was raised by Valentine...» he sighed. «And from Maryse and Robert,» he added hanging his head.

«Well, let’s say that your mother and father haven’t had this halo of pampering and warmth, I don’t know how Shadowhunter parents can be... but with Max and Rafael they seemed like any Mundane grandparent...» she smiled. «So... Maryse should get over it, right? My relationship with Jace...»

«If she has gotten through the fact that I am with Magnus. And I even got married in a hurry for a bet...» Alec muttered, nodding, his nose curled. «Well, I don’t know if you remember but he’s a Warlock, and not just anyone, but the one that in the Inquisitor’s records is called Harbinger of Debauchery...» he suggested.

«My all time favourite was Sweet Cheeks... although I have to admit that there are many memorable nicknames on those files...» Magnus nodded, at the door, a cocktail glass in his hand. «Biscuit, that t-shirt...» he muttered,  turning his nose.

«What?» she mumbled looking at herself, she was indeed wearing a way too big t-shirt, with a somewhat psychedelic design. «It’s comfy.» she replied.

«You look like a tomboy. Before the Isabelle Lightwood revolution.» he dribbled.

«Hey, I don’t think Izzy wears tight clothes to go to bed, does anyone want to settle comfortably under the covers or not?» she grumbled, pointing to his stomach with both hands. «Let’s fix my style when I don’t have all this ballast... I’m pregnant, so I can».

«She can.» Alec nodded, motioning for Magnus to let her go, poor thing. He had to remember that she had the hyperactive son of his hyperactive parabatai in her lap. «Even if I’m sure Izzy goes to bed with her heels».

«And I don’t really want to imagine how happy Sheridan is about this.» Magnus replied with a sneak smile.

«Oh God, come on. It’s my sister and her husband.» he muttered horrified.

Clary reached out to cover the two kids’ ears, though they were sleeping soundly. «Do you kiss your children with that mouth, Magnus Bane?».

«I kiss him too,» he replied with a certain satisfaction.

«Okay then, the rules must be updated. Let’s don’t talk about my parabatai in bed, or about the sexual life of the people in my family in general, alright?» Alec mumbled. «And this will apply both inside and outside the house, in the presence or absence of the kids».

«Why do you talk about Jace in bed?» Clary mumbled, evidently unable to follow them. «You two are giving me really bad vibrations, is there anything I need to know?».

«It was for work.» Alec muttered, his ears burning red.

«You’re giving me horrible mental images, Clarissa, thank you.» Magnus whined and then glanced at the two children and his face softened in an impossible way.

Alec felt his knees melt like butter, seeing that expression of complete adoration on his husband’s face, and if he hadn’t been seated, he would probably have gone belly up.

«How sweet they are,» he murmured, as lost in thought and then looked at Clary. «You should go to Idris too, Biscuit. I know that Maryse can be quite… _unique_ , but...».

The Shadowhunter found himself thinking that _unique_ was a strange choice of words to describe his mother. But he appreciated that Magnus had chosen that. Their relationships were visibly improved, sometimes they also exchanged strange fire messages that made his husband grin. And perhaps part of him found all that really creepy.

«God, you two... you say the same phrases...» she moaned faking annoyance.

«Ah, yes?» the Warlock hummed, looking up at Alec, a little pleased.

«She said leaving the whole shebang in Jace’s capable hands could lead to the collective stripping of our runes - if not exiling… all of us, in less than a minute.» Alec deadpanned nodding.

«Yes, actually he doesn’t seem very accustomed to reports and stuff like that...» Magnus agreed. «And with this kind of thing, it’s just a moment that he declares war on the Mermaids and he’ll find himself with hundreds of thousands of drowned-dead Mundanes...».

Clary nodded. «He would approve stupid missions, let’s face reality. We all know it, don’t we?».

Alec grinned slightly, with one of his grim smiles.

«Think about it, Biscuit.» he grumbled, then. «You must not risk in that state in which you are. And you would also take a look at the two little devils sleeping there».

«Do you really want to send them to Idris?» Clary asked, fleetingly glancing at the children, and then back at them.

«It’s the best thing.» Magnus nodded, turning on his heels and moving toward the door. «You can stay a little longer here, Alexander, I’m going to conjure another Martini and finish watching those footage, I want to see when he started to impose the _blood aegis_ on skeletons... Maybe you could try to convince your dear sister-in-law not to be foolish?».

«She has never listened to me once in her life.» he sighed, glancing down at the other Head of the Institute. «We’ll have to resume our speech in, let’s say, at most a quarter, Mags... we don’t have much time before the _you-know-what_ ,» he grumbled, as if the kids could still hear him, in the deep sleep they were in, supported more by the little spell that Magnus had imposed to make them sleep longer. They wouldn’t have even woken up even with a bombardment, probably, but better to be sure.

«Yes, darling.» He nodded. «Biscuit.» He smiled, winking at her, before closing the door behind him.

Alec got up and walked around the bed to stay closer to the kids. Clary watched his movements, studying them as she retrieved the charcoal to resume her drawing.

They stayed silent for a few minutes. Alec was trying to imprint this moment in his memory, trying to ignore the fact that they were under attack, that he would soon have to leave his two little monkeys to his mother.

«Is it difficult?» she asked.

«What?» he mumbled.

«Being a parent,» she grumbled furrowing a brow.

«It isn’t just me and Magnus who have strange mental connections for which we say the same things, I see...» he muttered, stretching to caress Max’s blue curls and Rafael’s little head before tucking the covers. «It will come naturally to you, as it will also come naturally to Jace, that troublemaker».

«I’ll have to listen to you, I guess.» she murmured. «Will you keep an eye on Jace and the Institute if I go to Idris?».

«If you’ll look after these two... or maybe you better just keep an eye on my mother. Deal done.» Alec nodded, drawing a cross on his heart.

«You’re becoming a Mundane,» she muttered.

«It’s parenthood.» He answered. «Imagine Jace at the park... he will certainly use some a bunch of stamina runes to show off with other mothers».

«He’ll earn a good kick in his ass, in that case.» she chuckled, crouching better.

«I better keep going. Come on, I’ll let you rest.» Alec murmured, heading towards the door. «If the alarm goes off, Magnus’s barriers should hold up, so don’t worry. And if they’d wake up...».

«I say it’s all right, that you’re working a tad late and you’ll be back soon.» She answered. «Easy».

«Great.» he nodded and lowered the door handle. «Thanks again, Clary».

In the corridor, he found Magnus with his back against the wall, his arms folded and a Martini glass in his hand. He had his eyes lost somewhere in front of him. His eyes fixed, as if he were looking at the past, at some ancient event.

«It’s just the second.» the Warlock smiled as soon as he realized he was there.

« _Only_ the second?» he asked, raising an eyebrow, a sly smile. «Didn’t you want to drink a dozen?».

«I also wanted a hug.» he mumbled lowering his head. «And then we have to finish the conversation with the others, before the attack».

The Shadowhunter sighed. «You said you wanted to see those videos...».

«They can wait until tomorrow.» he murmured, his voice seemed to tremble for a moment.

Alec decided he had to swallow the panic, a panic that he had actually only known a few times and only relative to his family. He had always been a good warrior, cold and detached when necessary. But when it came to his family, he lost all the cold blood. And maybe it was better this way: when you have something you care about, you have one more reason to fight, more fiercely. He spread his arms and motioned for him to approach. «Come on, I’ll cuddle you a little».

Magnus didn’t need it to be asked twice, and he clung to him snorting a long sigh, which perhaps he had not even realized he was holding in.

The Shadowhunter tugged him close, in silence. And he hoped that for a moment the world would annihilate, that all the worries, all the problems would stay away from their little bubble.

«Jace is still pissed off about our wedding.» he uttered and knew it would ease his tension.

Magnus choked a laugh in his shoulder. «I knew it would have bothered him».

«It’s not a good excuse to get married, Mags.» he pointed out, an eyebrow raised and his lips in his hair.

«No, in fact, my justification is that I love you,» he replied.

Alec sighed. «And then you didn’t want to quit in front of Maia».

«“I bet you don’t have the guts to marry”,» he said badly mimicking her, before crushing his tongue on his palate. « _Tsk_! Poor fool».

Alec laughed, delighted. «We were very drunk».

«So what?» He snorted. «Did you want to lose face?».

He rolled his eyes and puffed loudly.

«As if it bothers you, being married to me,» the Warlock muttered.

«Absolutely not. But maybe I would have done it with all the _trappings_...» he snorted. «You know, something huge».

« _Huge_ , Alexander?» He repeated incredulously. «Really, you never cease to amaze me. As soon as this thing is over, we will renew our vows and we will do it in the manner of you Nephilims, in gold and with the witchlight burning the skin and with the Silent Brothers who officiate the ceremony. To jump with joy!».

Alec laughed and sank his face more under his neck to gently kiss the jugular, making him shiver slightly. «We’ll have a party, I may add. A really great one».

«And we won’t invite Jace, _intentionally_ , this time.» he nodded.

«And that could be the right time that he kills you.» Alec muttered, squeezing him a little more.

«What is he complaining about? We did celebrate, didn’t we?» he grumbled. «And, if I remember correctly, he was really dead drunk, hammered to say the least, at the end of the night».

«Maybe because he drank so much, he can’t remember...» he murmured and gave him two kisses under his jaw. «We should go, before anyone arrives».

«Like Simon? And would catch us when it was getting good, like that time at the Academy?» Magnus asked.

And Alec felt his ears suddenly burn, the memory of that night still too vivid in his mind. «We had agreed that you would have avoided mentioning it again...».

«Your face that day is unforgettable, Alexander.» he answered before putting a kiss on his lips. «Come on, let’s go».

He had managed to ease the tension. Who knows how much though.

 

Jace was impatient, and he had certainly not avoided making it known to everyone as soon as they returned to his office. «Finally!» He grumbled.

Magnus decided to let it go, sat down again in the armchair he occupied a while ago and snorted, ready to get back to the topic.

« _Uhm_...» Simon began to say and caught his attention.

«Yes, Shamalaya?» Magnus muttered, turning his eyes to him.

«Starting with the assumption that I don’t want to scare anyone,» he said immediately, and Izzy rolled her eyes: when he began to say so there was only to worry. «But could you be Belial’s target? As the son of Asmodeus? That is, your father has deprived him of his authority... and has risen to lead demonic legions...».

Alec looked at Magnus, terrified by the possible answer.

The Warlock, however, didn’t even seem to think about it. «I doubt it.» he snorted.

«And why would they want to come into your house, otherwise?» Jace groaned. «I kind of like Simon’s idea, we should investigate it properly».

«I doubt it. Because I know what they want.» he murmured impassively.

«And what do they want?» asked Beatriz.

«A book. A book that my father gave me at the time of our first meeting, to show me his _bona fides_ , as if we can define it...» he replied, shrugging his shoulders. «It’s one of the many books I have. One that allows the summoning of entire demonic legions and Greater Demons, and allows them to be compelled to the will of the summoner,» he explained briefly. «It’s the Third Key of Solomon the King».

All those present stared at him in silence.

«And no, before you ask me, I’ve never used it. I’ll be as extravagant as you want, but I’m not a crazy killer.» he added, his eyes stern and a gentle smile on his lips. «I suppose Asmodeus wanted to see if I was so thirsty for power to use it... and yes, it’s a forbidden book, I don’t even think the Clave knows it exists...».

Beatriz opened her mouth twice before speaking. «So Barnabas wants the book in order to summon Belial?».

«No.» he replied dryly, crushing his tongue against his palate. «He wants to summon an army for Belial».

«But if the Third Key of Solomon allows the summoning of the Greater Demons...» Isabelle mumbled.

«The Greater Demons that have a recognized location. We must name the demonic kingdom from which to call the Demon... whatever it is.» Magnus clarified.

«Warlocks stuff,» Simon grumbled.

Magnus nodded quickly. «Belial is not in a place accessible by a direct spell. It’s in the Void. And he can only come out of it if you open up a portal,» he mumbled and then his eyes darkened. «Shit».

« _Language_.» Alec muttered, by reflection: he did it so often that it had become natural, but then he realized that something had snapped in his husband’s mind, a cog had wrapped in his gear and an idea seemed to have arrived. «What’s on your mind?».

«Barnabas could do it? Could he open a portal on the Void?» asked Jace, meddling.

«He could, yes.» Magnus nodded, his eyes fixed somewhere. «But his magic is so very volatile...».

Everyone looked at the Warlock in silence. Alec recognized that look, that one veil in his eyes: he’s probing all the possible variables.

«Why were you so worried, then, when did we realize that his target is your home?» mumbled the Head of the Institute.

Magnus’ face contorted in a grimace, as if he had just swallowed two tablespoons of cinnamon.

«We have kids, Jace.» Alec grumbled, stating the obvious. «It’s dangerous».

«Not only that, this guy is practically a deranged man who killed ten of his fellow men to use their blood to get more power and evoke such horrible rotten half zombies and half skeletons mix...» Simon muttered. «And, far be it from me to shake anyone, as always, but… I don’t think he would have no problems killing children».

Alec nodded, bitterly.

Magnus covered his eyes with his right hand, while his left thumb kept turning the wedding band on his ring finger.

He seemed to mumble something, maybe a half-swear.

«Mags?» Alec called him.

«Our home is well protected.» Magnus said again. «It’s the safest place there it is: my magic is everywhere there, everything is bound to my magic and the apartment could continue to be protected even if I died.» he murmured his eyes pointed at an unspecified point, but he was clearly talking to Alec. «Even if I died, though, all that is in our house, our children, you... you all would be protected by my residual magic trace; for the Institute it would work differently, Nephilims stuff and various Clave protocols... for years I have perfected my lair, in plain sight, accessible only to whom I want...».

He opened his mouth twice, Alec, trying to say something. He didn’t like this topic. He didn’t like the idea of finding himself without Magnus one day. These weren’t the plans: he wouldn’t have survived Magnus, absolutely. His residual magic trace wouldn’t have been necessary to protect him too, because he would have died (maybe old) before Magnus. He would have preceded him on the other side and probably would have waited in vain for his arrival. Or maybe he wouldn’t even have waited for him. His immortality was so reassuring.

«But there are ways to get around my wards. There is a split second where, if I am busy in an emergency, or if someone opens a portal for our living room, or if you come home injured, there is a split second in which my defences could lower themselves.» he murmured. «For a fraction of a second, the wards could be vulnerable, and Barnabas might be able to break into our house to look for that damn book».

A lump, the usual lump of anguish, wrapped in his throat.

Magnus huffed. «As much as our home is the safest place, it’s the target of that deranged one.» he mumbled his eyes on him. «The kids are in danger here with us, because they could become baits, at best…» Alec swallowed twice, did not even want to imagine the worst-case scenario. "We’ll have to send them to Alicante, at your mother’s. And we will have to stay at the Institute».

«And what about the book?» asked Beatriz.

The Warlock again covered his eyes with his fingers. «It will have to disappear».

«We can’t send it to Idris...» Jace mumbled. «Not if we send there your sons».

«And Clary, who is very pregnant.» Magnus added, looking at the Head of the Institute. «No, I was thinking of giving it back to its rightful owner».

«Solomon?» Simon mumbled.

«No, my father,» he replied. «I could exchange it in order to get useful information about Belial...».

«And you want to return a book with such destructive potential to a Prince of Hell?!» Jace grumbled. «You can’t do that, Magnus».

«Think about it, Barbie, I know we’ve already asked a lot of your brain tonight, but think about it.» he grunted sharply, or trying to be, maybe just to ease the tension. «Belial can’t have access to Edom».

«Your father is dangerous!» his parabatai replied.

And Alec certainly couldn’t dissent: Asmodeus was a Greater Demon, the commander of the demonic legions, one of the Princes of Hell, to call it dangerous was an understatement.

«He’s the lesser evil.» Magnus mumbled. «Believe me, I would never want to give him that book, knowing what he could do with it... and you know how much I know about his potential».

Jace closed his eyes for a moment. «The lesser evil is still evil».

«Yeah, absolutely.» the Warlock nodded.

And Alec couldn’t help but shudder: his husband was agreeing with his parabatai.

«Let’s find another way to get rid of that book» the Head of the Institute mumbled. «Meanwhile, let’s prepare for the attack tonight, if there will be».

«Do we still want to get one alive?» Izzy asked.

«No. We don’t need it.» Alec decided on his own, finally finding his words.

«If we catch one alive, would you be able to trace Barnabas with your magic, wouldn’t you?» Asked Beatriz.

Magnus shook his head. «No, the _blood aegis_ masks everything, the magic traces of the ten Warlocks are all mixed with his... I couldn’t trace it, even if I wanted to».

«So no, we do not need it.» Jace acquiesced. «Magnus, Alec. I would tell you to take the kids and settle in another room for tonight. I’m not going to ask you to intervene».

«Are you getting us benched?» Alec mumbled, blowing the air out of his lungs with a long sigh. «All right, tonight we’re side-lining, if you need a hand I’ll come».

«There will be no need» Simon stuttered.  «I’m here too tonight».

«As if this were to reassure them.» Beatriz grumbled.

Jace gave a soft blow to his desk. «Come on! Outside, you two. Free my bed from the two munchkins and take possession of your quarters».

«We need to talk about something else,» Magnus murmured in a low voice, not moving from his seat. «Perhaps all the previous speeches got you a little confused, and they pushed us away from the crux, here... there’s a Greater Demon around... who helped imposing the _blood aegis_ on skeletal evocations».

Alec remembered it, he really painfully remembered it and waited a while for this speech. He knew there was something more, something that Magnus knew better. But the others focused their eyes on the Warlock, as if upset, as if they didn’t catch up what he was talking about the whole time. There was a Greater Demon, somewhere, not far from them. Barnabas may had been able to summon a Greater Demon in order to get his help to get the book they had home. In order to give Belial a legion of bloodthirsty Demons. Or it may had been…

He looked up to Magnus, his face like thunder. «I think… it’s—it’s Belial».

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So,  
> I hope you did enjoy this little chapter today, please let me know if there are any mistakes that make your skin crowl, cause I'm not a native speaker so please let me learn!
> 
> As you may have noticed here I've introduced Belial, and I have a little idea in mind: Belial one of the Princes of Hell hasn't been mentioned till now in the series (hoping he will appear in the next entries), and yeah that's the main foe in Afterglow. And there is an Original Character too, Barnabas, who... urgh SPOILER, you'll see what will happen to him in the next chapter.  
> Hope you liked it, leave a kudo, a comment just to let me know!  
> And, even if I don't use tumblr very much, you can come say hi to me [here](https://lamalefix.tumblr.com/) , there, in the next few days I might publish a little sneak peek for the next chapters I've been working on.  
> Have a nice day!


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